"Run her over!"

[Ajaywill]

does jumping over the ball constitute interference?

Maybe, maybe not....I know this sounds like a cop out, but this is really something that needs to be seen on the field to judge whether or not it is interference.

Interference is a dead ball the instant it occurs and is called. We don't wait to see the outcome of the play to determine interference. The "intent" of the runner is not relevant, umpires are instructed to judge actions, not try to read intent.

If a runner stutter steps or tries to time their run as to be directly in front of a fielder as the ball is there, that COULD be considered an act of interference. As with almost every scenario involving interference, it needs to be seen to give much more than an opinion. Even at that, several people may see different things on the same play and come up with different rulings.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Maybe, maybe not....I know this sounds like a cop out, but this is really something that needs to be seen on the field to judge whether or not it is interference.Interference is a dead ball the instant it occurs and is called. We don't wait to see the outcome of the play to determine interference. The "intent" of the runner is not relevant, umpires are instructed to judge actions, not try to read intent.

If a runner stutter steps or tries to time their run as to be directly in front of a fielder as the ball is there, that COULD be considered an act of interference. As with almost every scenario involving interference, it needs to be seen to give much more than an opinion. Even at that, several people may see different things on the same play and come up with different rulings.

Aside from obvious physical contact or impedance, which nearly always requires an OBS/INT determination, it seems that there is nothing more substantive than the "I know pornography when I see it" guideline for determining base runner interference. The rule books appear to be explicitly ambiguous, are the casebooks any better? Are there casebook-like videos to provide examples? Is there a more consistent message in clinics or are these only as good as the clinicians leading them? Do/should age and ability (i.e., Gold or U10) come into consideration.

Yes, I know I'm being persistent, but I'd like to be able to understand the ruling well enough so that I can advise my baserunners how to navigate the situation ("run away and hide when the ball is hit near you" hasn't worked out very well so far).

 

[Ajaywill]

Aside from obvious physical contact or impedance, which nearly always requires an OBS/INT determination it seems that there is nothing more substantive than the "I know pornography when I see it" guideline for determining base runner interference. The rule books appear to be explicitly ambiguous, are the casebooks any better? Are there casebook-like videos to provide examples? Is there a more consistent message in clinics or are these only as good as the clinicians leading them? Do/should age and ability (i.e., Gold or U10) come into consideration.

Yes, I know I'm being persistent, but I'd like to be able to understand the ruling well enough so that I can advise my baserunners how to navigate the situation ("run away and hide when the ball is hit near you" hasn't worked out very well so far).

Bingo on the bolded part.....and I actually welcome the discussion.

Obstruction and Interference are both very subjective and difficult to define as to this act is interference and this act is not interference...as clinicians, all we can do is explain the rule and provide examples of actions that could be interference or obstruction.

And yes, age of the players and ability is taken into consideration by the upper level umpires. I mentioned NCAA earlier...even though the NCAA rule on interference reads almost exactly the same as the ASA rule, NCAA umpires are instructed not to call interference without physical contact or a blatant act like the runner waving her hands in front of the fielders face as the fielder is waiting to catch a pop up. The theory being that by the time a player gets to that level, they should have enough experience and skill to complete a play without being distracted by a runner in close proximity. As the age level of the players go down, the standard for interference goes up. As an example, a runner running in front of a fielder as the ball is getting to that fielder may not be interference at the 18u level, but has a much better chance of being called at the 10u level.

As far as coaching your baserunners, all I can tell you is that they need to know that they cannot interfere with a fielder making a play on a batted ball. Sometimes, stuff happens due to where the ball is hit, where the fielder is positioned, and where the runner is running. As an umpire, I realize that sometimes that means your team gets the short end of the stick, but I am required to enforce the rule.

 

[rowdy]

If the coach tells a player to run over the shortstop and she in fact does it she would be ejected from the game. Even if a player has the right to the line she doesn't have the right to run over a fielder who is in the way. Contact would result in obstruction, but if the umpires sees intent on the runners part the would be removed.