Weak Interference
Several situations arise in baseball that are considered, by logical extension of the rules, not to be severe enough to warrant an interference call, but nevertheless require enforcement to maintain fair play. These are known to umpires as weak interference, though this term itself does not appear in the rules. These well-defined incidents are not severe enough to be considered offensive interference. When weak interference occurs, the ball is usually called dead, but no further penalty is assessed against a baserunner or batter.
Weak interference is called when:
- A catcher touches the batter or his bat before a pitch
- A foreign object or animal flies between home plate and the pitcher before or during a pitch
- A non-participant or member of the offensive team grasps a live ball, but no play is affected and no runners attempt to advance
- The pitcher stops his pitching motion because the batter induced him to do so, such as by asking for time.
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Read more about this topic: Interference (baseball)
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