What is the call ?

[str8up]

Batter is up to bat in the box, the pitcher gets her sign and begins to rock back starting her motion to pitch, when the batter winds bat one more time to get ready to hit, contact is made with the catchers glove, the batter turns to the catcher, the pitcher still makes the pitch and the batter gets rung for strike three.....The Offensive coach wants C.INT and the ump said its only C.Int when the ball is in flight out of the pitchers hand and due to the pitcher having the ball still in her possesion when the contact was made it is not C.INT.. What is the call ?

[DonnieS]

Wow, this happened to someone else - just today !

[MTR]

Batter is up to bat in the box, the pitcher gets her sign and begins to rock back starting her motion to pitch, when the batter winds bat one more time to get ready to hit, contact is made with the catchers glove, the batter turns to the catcher, the pitcher still makes the pitch and the batter gets rung for strike three.....The Offensive coach wants C.INT and the ump said its only C.Int when the ball is in flight out of the pitchers hand and due to the pitcher having the ball still in her possesion when the contact was made it is not C.INT.. What is the call ?

Speaking ASA

If the pitch hasn't started at the time of the contact (hands separated), the umpire should kill the ball and allow the catcher and batter to reset.

If afterwards, it would be catcher's OBSTRUCTION.

[Bretman]

Except for reversing the interfernce/obstruction terminology, *right call was made at the game. (*Oops- I mis-read part of the post. See correction in post below)

It's only catcher obstruction if the catcher impedes or prevents the batter from hitting or striking at the pitched ball. You must have a pitch already delivered to make this call.

Some baseball rule sets use the term "catcher interference", but it's "catcher obstruction" in the softball world!

(Mmmmm? A poster with the initials "MTR" who begins his post "Speaking ASA"...that rings a bell...)

[wadeintothem]

Right call (except for reversing the interfernce/obstruction terminology) was made at the game. It's only catcher obstruction if the catcher impedes or prevents the batter from hitting or striking at the pitched ball. You must have a pitch already delivered to make this call.

Some baseball rule sets use the term "catcher interference", but it's "catcher obstruction" in the softball world!

(Mmmmm? A poster with the initials "MTR" who begins his post "Speaking ASA"...that rings a bell...)

Nothing gets by you bretman!

[Bretman]

Quite a few pitches get by me when I'm batting on my men's fastpitch team...

Another thing that got past me...the fact that the batter was called out on strike three in the original post! You know how it goes- sometimes you can read right through something while quickly scanning a post.

So, when I said the right call was made- that was the wrong thing to say!

Contact before pitch begins = no penalty, call time, call "no pitch" if ball is thrown, and let players reset.

Contact after pitch begins (and in the batters normal course of trying to hit the pitch) = catcher obstruction (unless the umpire judges that the batter purposely initiated the contact to disrupt the catcher from catching the ball and making a play. Then you can have batter interference.)

Contact that happens and the umpire doesn't notice it? You're stuck with the play as he calls it!