Baseball rules corner: defense can't be penalized on certain umpire interference calls.(Brief Article)

IN THE GAME BETWEEN THE MARINERS and Rangers in Texas on July 3, plate umpire Dana DeMuth ruled interference on himself. Here is what happened.

Seattle was batting in the top of the first inning with Carlos Guillen on third when Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez attempted to pick him off. The throw missed the mark, and Guillen came home, apparently scoring. But DeMuth bumped Rodriguez during the throw and waved the play off.

Dana invoked rule 5.09-b. On such interference calls, the defense can never be penalized. If Rodriguez nailed Guillen at third base, DeMuth's interference would simply have been ignored. However, runners are not allowed to advance when the plate umpire hinders the catcher from making a play.

Are you saying this seldom occurs? Why waste valuable space in this publication?

Well, it happened again on August 12 in Baltimore where the Orioles hosted the Red Sox. In the bottom of the first inning, Melvin Mora stole second but was sent back to first because plate umpire Tim McClelland interfered with Boston catcher Doug Mirabelli.

McClelland, one of baseball's highly regarded umpires, apparently has had bad luck with catchers. Tim got caught on June 5, 1991, at Yankee Stadium where the Blue Jays and Yankees hooked up.

Toronto had Roberto Alomar on first and Pat Tabler at bat when Alomar took off for second on the pitch. Yankee catcher Bob Geren fired to second base too late to erase Alomar.