Catcher Ejected

[clarkms75]

A similar topic has come up several times this high school season for our hometown. So my question(legitimately asking) what should catchers do in a situation where right handed hitters are backing completely out of the box obstructing any chance of a throw to 3rd for either stolen base attempts or back picks?

The explanation I got from an umpire after a game was a head scratcher “in my judgment the runner at 3rd would have been safe anyway and the batter seemed like a kid who didn’t know what she was doing not someone looking to obstruct the throw so I let the safe call stand”

Any thoughts from anyone with umpiring experience?


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[The Man In Blue]

What the umpire thinks might have happened means NOTHING.

Here is the NFHS Softball language:

7-4-4
ART. 4 . . . The batter interferes with the catcher's fielding or throwing by leaning over home plate, by stepping out of the batter's box, by making any movement which hinders action at home after the pitch reaches the catcher or the catcher's attempt to play on a runner, or by failing to make a reasonable effort to vacate congested area when there is a throw to home and there is time for the batter to move away.

The penalty is the batter is out and the runner returns to the last base touched at the time of the interference.

Now ... the umpire could say, "I don't think the batter hindered the catcher." Then you have nothing.