I think situations like this one, and illegal pitches, don’t get called under the guise of “game management” or “don’t go looking for trouble”.
As others have said, no where in the rule book is it spelled out that the defense has to know the situation while the offense gets to skate.
Some might view calling the batter out for interference as a “gotcha” call, fair enough. But that call is within the rule as written; an umpire doesn’t have to discern intent for any player.
As I said, I think the better call would be to kill it, bring the batter back to the box and place the runner on third. From a game management point of view, I think that’s the best call.
Now, an umpire could be criticized for doing that, but this situation isn’t black and white.
As others have said, no where in the rule book is it spelled out that the defense has to know the situation while the offense gets to skate.
Some might view calling the batter out for interference as a “gotcha” call, fair enough. But that call is within the rule as written; an umpire doesn’t have to discern intent for any player.
As I said, I think the better call would be to kill it, bring the batter back to the box and place the runner on third. From a game management point of view, I think that’s the best call.
Now, an umpire could be criticized for doing that, but this situation isn’t black and white.