The Mariners hosted the Astros on April 12, 2026. In the top of the first inning, the Astros had Jose Altuve on first base with no outs when he attempted to steal second. The throw to second sailed into the outfield, and Altuve advanced to third.

But wait!

Plate umpire Clint Vondrak called interference on himself and returned Altuve to first base.

The Astros second baseman had an interesting inning, as he was subsequently picked off first by Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert.

Ruleball Comments 

1. If the plate umpire makes contact with the catcher when he is throwing to a base and the runner is retired, the interference is nullified. If the runner is not retired, he must return to his previous base.
2. Vondrak handled the play well, but umpires must be careful not to get too close to the catcher’s throw.
3. Umpire interference can only occur in the following ways: (a) if the second base umpire is hit by a batted ball when positioned in front of the infielders; (b) when the plate umpire interferes with the catcher making a throw to prevent a stolen base or retire a runner on a pickoff play; or (c) when the plate umpire interferes with the catcher’s throw back to the pitcher with runner(s) on base.
4. On thrown balls that make contact with umpires, no umpire interference can be called, as umpires are treated as part of the ground.
5. There can be times when a catcher’s hand or arm just nicks the plate umpire during the process of a throw. There are also times when an umpire’s foot or leg can impede the catcher. It is important for the catcher to report this to his manager so that he can challenge the violation. This type of interference can be difficult to see with the human eye. Take the following play:

The Red Sox and Blue Jays met at Rogers Centre on April 30, 2013. In the bottom of the third inning, the Jays had the bases loaded with no outs when Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia attempted to pick off Jose Bautista at first base. “Salty” fired the ball into right field, and two runs scored on the play.

Replays clearly showed that Saltalamacchia made contact with home plate umpire Clint Fagan on the throw, which is most likely the reason the ball sailed into the outfield.

“I went to go throw it and my elbow hit the umpire’s mask,” Saltalamacchia said to Chris Toman of MLB.com.

Since Saltalamacchia made contact with the umpire, as soon as Bautista was not retired, Fagan should have called “Time” and returned the runners to their bases. No runs should have scored on the play. If Saltalamacchia had retired Bautista, the interference would have been disregarded since the interference itself does not create a dead ball. But because the runner was not put out, the play should have been ruled dead and the runners returned to their bases. Fagan reportedly said that Saltalamacchia hit him on the follow-through, not when he cocked back to throw.

“It’s kind of impossible,” Saltalamacchia said.

I agree with Saltalamacchia that it would have been impossible to hit the umpire on the follow-through. If the contact occurred after the throw, Fagan can defend his decision. But the replay clearly indicated that contact was made when Saltalamacchia cocked his arm to throw.

Saltalamacchia should have reported the contact to his manager, John Farrell. Farrell could have argued the misinterpretation of the rule with Fagan and possibly requested that the umpire crew get together to reverse the call.

The Blue Jays won the game, 9-7, so the no-interference call definitely impacted the game. Interference and obstruction plays are not reviewable.

Rich Marazzi

Rules consultant/analyst:  Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals,  Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Rangers, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Yankees, YES, and Chicago Sports Network