The fly ball hits the batter’s helmet and is caught by the fielder.

A fly ball hit a batter’s helmet and was caught on the bounce by a fielder, resulting in a final call by the umpires, but not for the catch. Let’s look at the interference rule to understand what happened, and we’ll look at the college and professional baseball rules because they are nearly identical for this play, which took place in the Pacific Empire League, a freshman college summer league.

First, we refer to rules like NCAA 6-2-a or OBR 5.06(c)(5) which state that the ball becomes dead when “A foul ball is not caught, in which case the runners return to their bases.“

For the question of a hold in this situation, see NCAA 2-16: “It is not a catch if a fielder touches a fly ball that then hits a member of the offensive team or an umpire and is then caught by that fielder or another defensive player.“

Therefore, an air out for a capture is an incorrect decision.

Instead, we must consider what is right or wrong, as in NCAA Rule 7-11-1: “A batter is out when a ball hit in full position touches the batter-runner outside the batter’s legal position in the batter’s box before touching a fielder.” . “

But if the ball is foul, we must consult the interference rule for a fielder’s right of way on a batted ball, as in OBR 6.01(a)(10): “It is interference by a batter or runner when they fail to avoid a fielder attempting to catch a batted ball, or when they intentionally interfere with a pitched ball.“

Therefore, the most realistic outcome here is that the umpire ruled that the batter-runner interfered with the catcher by not avoiding the fielder who was attempting to field a batted ball. I disagree, but from a rules perspective, this is the only ruling that seems to be supported by the book. Absent interference, it is a foul ball.