Umpire Colliding With a Player
Gene Gueniot asks:
With a runner on third a batted ball is hit to the shortstop toward second base. The base umpire and shortstop collide causing batter to be safe at first. What is ruling concerning runner at third going home and scoring?
This is not umpires interference because umpire's interference only occurs when a fair batted ball hits the umpire. In this situation the ball is live and in play and the runner from third is allowed to score.
Even though there is no rule requiring it, the umpire should always do his best to not interfer with a play and should always attempt to avoid this kind of situation. This can be done by, before the play, positioning himself far enough away from the fielders in order to give himself enough room to move out of the way. He should also read the ball right off the bat so he can move fast enough away from the play.
Answered by: Jonathan Bravo
Keywords: Umpiring