1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:17,120 Welcome to Blue Crew Diaries, an Umpire Podcast. 2 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:22,120 My name is Daryl and I will be your host as we take a look behind the mask so to speak, 3 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:27,400 sharing stories, insights and experiences from the unique perspective of the baseball 4 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:28,640 umpire. 5 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:33,520 In this episode, we'll talk a little bit about batter's interference, when to call it and 6 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:34,960 when not to. 7 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:41,080 If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future episodes, draw me a line at BlueCrewDiaries 8 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,280 at gmail dot com. 9 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:58,120 So if you're ready, grab your indicator and plate brush and let's hit the field. 10 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:03,400 Alright everybody, welcome back to another episode of Blue Crew Diaries and Umpire Podcast. 11 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:08,400 In this episode, as you heard in the intro, we're going to talk a little bit about batter's 12 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:16,520 interference when it comes to catchers and specifically when a catcher is trying to retire 13 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:20,360 a runner like at third base or something like that. 14 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:28,880 But before we get into that, let's go over some announcements. 15 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:35,040 First off, the big one this time around is the Little League World Series and Regional 16 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:41,120 Tournament umpire assignments came out just the other day. 17 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:48,260 There are a couple of umpires from the state of Maine here that made the cut. 18 00:01:48,260 --> 00:01:55,020 So congratulations to all of the umpires that have been selected to work either the World 19 00:01:55,020 --> 00:01:59,760 Series or a Little League Regional. 20 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:06,900 Let's see, next announcement is the umpire outreach clinics from Little League are still 21 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:08,840 going on. 22 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:18,000 As you would expect, you can find the closest one to you on the umpire registry at littleleagueumpire.org. 23 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:26,360 If you have not signed up for the umpire registry, I highly, highly recommend you do so. 24 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,600 Some good stuff on there. 25 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:35,680 It is, in my opinion, kind of lacking on educational content, but they are or seem to be working 26 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:37,720 on that. 27 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:43,440 One new addition to the umpire registry is an umpire rules challenge. 28 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:52,320 So if you go onto the registry and log in right on the main page, kind of on the right 29 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:56,960 hand side, you will see the background check request, Little League Rules instruction manual, 30 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,560 which is currently not available because they are updating it. 31 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,000 And right below that is the new 2025 Little League Rules challenge. 32 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:09,680 It consists of, I believe, 70ish questions. 33 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,600 Yeah, it's interesting. 34 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:18,680 So I think they give you like 90 minutes to complete it once you start it. 35 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,720 And obviously you can see how well you did. 36 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:24,720 I took it, I didn't do too bad. 37 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,440 I think I got around an 80 on it. 38 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:33,720 So not too bad at all. 39 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:39,200 Also the California District 4 rules videos. 40 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,720 They are still putting those up. 41 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:48,760 Let's see. 42 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,080 If I can type today. 43 00:03:52,080 --> 00:04:01,960 All right, California District 4 Little League on YouTube. 44 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,380 Let's see here. 45 00:04:04,380 --> 00:04:10,240 So they are up to Little League Rules Clinic number four. 46 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:17,000 So they usually do like four or five different ones, kind of break everything up, but highly, 47 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,680 highly recommend that. 48 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:27,740 Yeah, just go onto YouTube and search for California District 4 Little League and check 49 00:04:27,740 --> 00:04:29,920 out all the videos they have on there. 50 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:38,280 They have specific rules for intermediate and junior Little League, as well as just 51 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,280 all the regular baseball and softball stuff. 52 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,480 So check that out. 53 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:51,920 All right, on to the main topic of today's episode. 54 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,680 This topic is a listener suggestion. 55 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:05,280 I received an email last week asking about my thoughts on a particular situation. 56 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:14,920 Basically a runner going from second to third, whether trying to steal or whatever, and the 57 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:21,720 batter basically just stands there in the box and doesn't move. 58 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:28,720 Manager trying to throw to retire that runner then has to work around the batter. 59 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:39,000 And of course, the defensive manager is calling interference on the batter. 60 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:44,160 There's actually been a little bit of talk about this on social media the last couple 61 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:48,840 of weeks, whether it actually is batter's interference or is not. 62 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:55,880 So let me read you the rule and then I'll kind of give you my thoughts on this. 63 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:01,760 So in your Little League rule book, it is rule 6.06. 64 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:10,300 A batter is out for illegal action when, there are a couple other things there, but specifically 65 00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:19,240 C interfering with the catcher's fielding or throwing by one, stepping out of the batter's 66 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:28,400 box or two, making any other movement that hinders the catcher's actions at home plate 67 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:36,640 or the catcher's attempt to play on a runner or three, failing to make a reasonable effort 68 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:42,480 to vacate a congested area when there is a throw to home plate and there is time for 69 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,520 the batter to move away. 70 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:47,920 Now I have seen that. 71 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,560 I've seen a batter just kind of stand there in the box, knowing that a runner's coming 72 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,000 in from third and there's going to be a play at the plate. 73 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:05,240 A lot of batters think that the batter's box is a safe haven. 74 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,640 And as long as they stay in the box, they can do whatever they want. 75 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,400 They can stand there and do jumping jacks right in front of the catcher while the catcher 76 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:21,320 is trying to get around them to throw down to third to retire a runner. 77 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:22,640 And that is not the case. 78 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:32,640 I mean, it literally says right here, rule 6.06C2, making any other movement that hinders 79 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:38,800 the catcher's actions at home plate or the catcher's attempt to play on a runner. 80 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:48,200 So in my view, the way that reads to me is if there's a potential play at third, the 81 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:56,240 catcher is trying to throw, and the batter literally just stands in the box in their 82 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:03,600 stance like they're waiting for a pitch and just stands there like a statue, you really 83 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,160 can't call batter's interference there, can you? 84 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:15,880 I mean, they're not moving, they're not doing anything to hinder the throw from the catcher, 85 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:20,560 whether intentional or not. 86 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,800 And that's another thing I'll touch on here briefly. 87 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:35,200 But in that scenario, it's really the catcher's responsibility to work around the batter. 88 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:44,920 And again, if the batter makes a movement that ends up interfering, say they kind of 89 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:52,120 move to their left or move to their right, the catcher pops up, goes to throw on the 90 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,880 right side of the batter and the batter just moves to the right, even though they're still 91 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:02,720 in the box, that could be batter's interference. 92 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:10,320 Now some coaches will argue, well, he didn't mean, you know, he meant to step to the right, 93 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,400 but he didn't mean to get in the way of the catcher. 94 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:18,600 That doesn't matter. 95 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:26,040 The fact of the matter is the batter moved and that made the catcher's throw more difficult, 96 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:29,120 that interfered with the catcher's throw. 97 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,400 That is batter's interference. 98 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:39,940 Whether the batter meant to interfere with the catcher or not is irrelevant. 99 00:09:39,940 --> 00:09:49,120 So there's, unfortunately, there's a good amount of nuance here because you could have 100 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:56,440 a batter in their stance, the pitch comes in and they just stand straight up like a 101 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:02,020 normal batter would normally do after a pitch. 102 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:09,320 But standing up somehow interferes with that catcher's throw down to third. 103 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:18,360 I mean, you could call that batter's interference because it did interfere with the throw. 104 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:24,280 So there's a lot of nuance to it. 105 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:33,120 Unfortunately, I think the, you know, whether it is called batter's interference or not 106 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:43,840 is honestly going to depend on each individual umpire and how that umpire interprets the 107 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,520 rule, how that umpire thinks. 108 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,200 Yeah. 109 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:58,120 So there's kind of a lot to unpack there. 110 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,120 I mean, those are my thoughts on it. 111 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:05,400 Personally, I've never had to call batter's interference because there aren't really a 112 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,640 whole lot of catchers that want to throw down to third. 113 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:15,560 Most of the time they'll, I mean, you see it, you know, first runner going from first 114 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:19,600 to second on a steal all the time. 115 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:24,760 You know, the catcher will get the ball, knows that this runner is going and you'll hear 116 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:33,080 like half the team say, just let him go, let him go, you know, okay. 117 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:37,560 A lot of times they do that if a runner is going from second to third. 118 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:45,720 So yeah, that's really all I got for this one. 119 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:56,000 Again, it's all going to depend on, in my view, the umpire and what they think about 120 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,520 it. 121 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:04,840 And you know, you may get the umpire that will never call batter's interference because 122 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:10,800 they don't see anything, you know, even if the batter moves to the side or stands up 123 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:20,160 or you know, or you know, reaches their hand out to wave the runner to third, you know, 124 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:25,240 you'll have some umpires that won't say anything about anything. 125 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:31,500 And then you'll have those umpires that if the batter, you know, stays in their stance, 126 00:12:31,500 --> 00:12:39,760 but just kind of looks to the side, the umpire will call batter's interference. 127 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,240 So again, it's on the individual umpire. 128 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:50,520 I've really never had to call it. 129 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:55,040 And I'm sure there are times I probably should have called it. 130 00:12:55,040 --> 00:13:06,000 It's one of those things as an umpire, you have got so much going on, especially if you're 131 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,760 behind the plate. 132 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:16,720 A couple of years ago, I had a game, it was about halfway through my first year of umpiring. 133 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:27,680 I had a game where from what I was told by my umpire in chief after the game, I was told 134 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:34,400 that there were like four or five batters that when they took a swing, they had one 135 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:39,840 foot completely outside the box. 136 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:41,920 So what happens there? 137 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:49,280 Well, if you take a swing and you make contact with the ball, whether the ball ends up fair 138 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:58,380 or foul, if you have one foot, at least one foot, completely out of the batter's box when 139 00:13:58,380 --> 00:14:03,800 you make contact with the ball, you are out. 140 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,440 It's just that simple. 141 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,280 But here's the thing. 142 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:13,960 There were, you know, three, four, five, whatever batters that were swinging with a foot completely 143 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,920 out of the box. 144 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:26,800 And I never even saw it because I was focused on everything else that was going on. 145 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,080 I never saw them step out of the box. 146 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:38,560 I may not see them, you know, unintentionally interfere with the catcher's throw. 147 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,040 You know, there's just so much going on. 148 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:48,800 You really got to keep your head on a swivel, you know, and just be vigilant, be constantly 149 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,960 looking around, seeing what's happening. 150 00:14:53,960 --> 00:15:00,280 You know, and again, there are going to be times where something happens. 151 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:06,960 And even though you're looking right at it, it doesn't quite register in your head. 152 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:12,280 Like situation I had last year with a runner coming in from third, the catcher was literally 153 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:19,560 standing on the chalk foul line, straddling the line 10 feet up the baseline or up the 154 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:21,720 base path. 155 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:28,240 And the runner literally had to like check up when he got to the catcher and then try 156 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,360 to go around the catcher. 157 00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:39,120 And at that point, the catcher was in the act of receiving the ball, which does not 158 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:45,600 offer that catcher any protection from obstruction. 159 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:50,680 And as the runner started to work his way around the catcher, the catcher finally got 160 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,960 the ball, swipe tag. 161 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:57,200 I call the runner out on the tag. 162 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:01,040 I was looking right at it. 163 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:08,080 And in my head, I didn't see obstruction until the offensive coach came out and said, 164 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:14,280 hey, you know, the catcher can't stand where he was standing without the ball. 165 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:18,680 Like that literally he's blocking the runner's path. 166 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:24,480 He's impeding the progress of the runner without, you know, possession of the baseball. 167 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:31,880 And I thought about it for a second and went, well, dang, he's right. 168 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:33,240 I was looking right at it. 169 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,840 I saw it. 170 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:43,840 But I didn't think to call it because there was just so much other stuff going on. 171 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:51,040 And that's that's one thing that I still struggle with even two years in. 172 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,840 I struggle with getting overwhelmed. 173 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,640 I really do. 174 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,320 I mean, at the plate, I get overwhelmed. 175 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:04,440 I know I'm getting way off topic here, but at the plate, I get overwhelmed on the bases. 176 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:11,000 You know, a lot of times, you know, there'll be a hit and the ball's going wherever the 177 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,400 ball's going. 178 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:13,600 And I'm standing there. 179 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,960 I'm not. 180 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:21,880 I'm looking at where the ball is, looking to see where the runners are, trying to figure 181 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,320 out where I need to be and what I need to be looking at. 182 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:33,960 And I literally I mean, if there were if there were icons that appeared above people's heads, 183 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:39,160 you know, kind of like the light bulb when you get a bright idea, mine would be the little 184 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:45,200 circle loading symbol half the time, especially when I'm out on the bases. 185 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:49,120 I literally I'm like a chicken with my head cut off trying to figure out where I need 186 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:50,120 to be. 187 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,140 You know, well, OK, so the ball's over here. 188 00:17:53,140 --> 00:17:57,840 So I need to go over here, you know, and I need to keep an eye on this runner. 189 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,320 And then but the throw is probably going to come here. 190 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,200 And I don't want to be in the way of that. 191 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,520 You know, I just I'm like a squirrel. 192 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,400 I can't figure out which direction I want to go. 193 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:18,760 And I just kind of stand there loading and then I end up, you know, not being in position 194 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:21,960 to where certain people think I should be. 195 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,440 And then I start getting yelled at by coaches. 196 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:30,280 And yeah, anyway, different rabbit hole. 197 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:38,800 So yeah, catch it batters interference as far as catcher throwing down to third is kind 198 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,720 of a touchy touchy subject. 199 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:44,700 Again, all all umpires are probably going to call it different. 200 00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:52,440 My view is, you know, if if the batter just stands there, it's the responsibility of the 201 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:54,840 catcher to work around the batter. 202 00:18:54,840 --> 00:19:06,000 Now if the batter steps out of the batter's box and ends up interfering with the throw 203 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:12,920 or even even if it's not like a direct interference, but the catcher then has to take a step, let's 204 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:20,000 say forward to get around that batter because the batter steps out of the box. 205 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,000 That's that that's kind of an easy one. 206 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:29,840 That's that's batters interference, you know, really no question about it. 207 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:34,440 But you know, some of the other stuff if they're in the box, you know, the box is not a safe 208 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,800 haven for the batter as much as they want to think it is. 209 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,400 It is not. 210 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:44,480 And you can do stuff in the box to interfere with that catcher throw. 211 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:50,960 If you do, you know, regardless of whether it's intentional or not, the the umpire may 212 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,000 may call it. 213 00:19:53,000 --> 00:20:01,360 So anyway, I am getting well, kind of back on topic here, but I've I've rambled on long 214 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:02,800 enough. 215 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,440 So those are my thoughts. 216 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:14,880 Again, this this topic was a an email that I received from a gentleman down down the 217 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:16,800 southern part of the United States. 218 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:25,400 I forget exactly where he's from, but yeah, he just he had a question regarding this. 219 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:34,280 And yeah, so Birmingham, Alabama, that's where he is. 220 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:39,080 So thank you very much, Michael, for the question. 221 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,600 I also responded back to him via email. 222 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:47,280 We had a little bit of a conversation there. 223 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:51,400 So yeah, Michael, thank you for the question. 224 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:59,080 And as always, anybody out there, if you have any questions, comments, ideas for future 225 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:03,240 episodes like this one, let me know. 226 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:08,480 BlueCrewDiaries at gmail.com. 227 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:16,640 So that brings us to this episode's special little trivia question. 228 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:22,680 If you remember the last trivia question from last episode, at what point does the umpire 229 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,800 crew officially take charge of the playing field? 230 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:31,920 Look up rule 4.01 D as in Delta. 231 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,240 That will give you the answer for that. 232 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:45,600 But essentially it is at the plate meaning when the home team manager gives the umpire 233 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,800 their lineup card. 234 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,280 That's pretty much it. 235 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:58,520 Once the once the the plate umpire has possession of that lineup, it's their field. 236 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:04,000 So this month's question is as follows. 237 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:11,020 This should be a pretty simple one if you've umpired any games in Little League. 238 00:22:11,020 --> 00:22:21,400 Does Little League have a must slide rule when attempting to avoid attack? 239 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:27,840 Does Little League have a must slide rule when attempting to avoid attack? 240 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:35,560 It'd be pretty simple if you've umpired at all, but yeah, you may need some of you may 241 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:39,660 need to crack open the rule book for that one. 242 00:22:39,660 --> 00:22:47,160 So that is it for this episode of BlueCrew Diaries and umpire podcast. 243 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,920 Again questions, comments, ideas for future episodes. 244 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:53,720 BlueCrewDiaries at gmail.com. 245 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:59,160 This episode will also be posted on YouTube as well as all of the other BlueCrewDiary 246 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:00,160 episodes. 247 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:05,760 So feel free to drop a comment there. 248 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,480 That is pretty much it for this one. 249 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:31,760 As always, thank you all very much for listening and I will see you on the diamond.