I am aware of the rule that if a in-play batted ball hits a baserunner, then the runner is deemed out and the batter is credited with a base hit.
Scenario:
9th inning. Nobody out. Runner on first base. Batter steps to the plate. He’s got a 55-game hitting streak but is 0-4 today. Hits a weak 2-hopper to the right side. The baserunner, trying to help out his teammate, reaches down and swats the ball as it passes by him.
Is the batter’s hitting streak extended? Or is there a rule that prevents such an intentional act? If so, what is the call?
What if the baserunner “just happens” to stumble or the ball hits him with no obvious overt action on his part (but he made no discernible attempt to get out of the way of the weak hopper). Do the umpires have any discretion to decide intent? (Similar to an ump not allowing a batter hit by pitch to take first base if there was no attempt to avoid the pitch).
With less than 2 outs any intentional interference would be an attempt to break up a double play, so yes, the batter would be called out and no base hit awarded.
Thanks. Rule 6.01(a) does seem to cover the “obvious attempt” of my original scenario. However, what of the “gee, the ball happened to hit me” scenario? Is that simply a judgment call by the ump to determine whether this rule is activated? If a baserunner is deft enough, can he get that 56th hit for his teammate?
Taking it another step…what if the baserunner is on second and the ball is chopped to the left side and he makes the deliberate act? There is no double play “in order” (since no force) and the action by the baserunner could not be seen as an attempt to break up a double play in the traditional sense. Is Rule 6.01(a) still the go-to? (certainly, any ball in play with a runner on base can be a double play ball of some sort). Or is there another mechanism for the umpire to declare both the runner and the batter out? Would “making a mockery of the game” come into play?
It might be an interesting case if the runner is on 2nd base, nobody on 1st base. Is it still considered an attempt to break up a double play? There’s no force play on the runner on 2nd.
(Was typing the above while you posted the same scenario)
My guess is that it would not be an attempt to break up a double play.
If the runner is hit by the batted ball unintentionally, he is out and the batter is awarded first base and the play is scored a single.
If there are 2 outs and the runner interferes, even if intentionally, I believe the batter still gets credited with a base hit but the runner is out.
I figured that the batter would get credited with a fielder’s choice. So I did a little research, and this confirms that the batter is credited with a single.
In terms of the scoring decision, the umpires don’t make those calls. As Barkis points out, if the umpire ascertains that the runner deliberately interfered, the batter-runner is out so there can’t be a hit and there is no scoring decision at all.
Under your modified scenario, where the runner is leaving second base and there is no double play in order, but he’s just interfering to keep a hitting streak alive, it is important to note that Rule 6.01 does not* in most cases* require any evidence of intent. So even if the runner quite clearly interferes or not, the scoring decision would presumably be the same.
The cases in which intent does matter are in cases where the runner would otherwise NOT eb called out. In summary,
If the ball strikes a runner when infielders are behind the runner and attempting to make a play, the runner is out, irrespective of intent.
If the ball strikes a runner after the ball has passed the infielders, or after the ball has already touched an infielder attempting to make a play on it, the ball is alive and the play continues. The exception is that if the runner deliberately kicks such a ball, the runner is then out.
Either way however it does not affect the scoring decision.