Catcher's interference

Catcher's interference

Catcher's interference is called when the catcher physically hinders the batter's legal swing at a pitched ball. This usually occurs when a catcher squats too close to home plate, so that the batter's bat hits the catcher's mitt as the batter swings. This is most likely to happen on attempted steals where the catcher is anxious to catch the ball as soon as possible and may move their entire body or mitt forward a bit. It also more commonly happens to hitters who let pitches get deeper and take later swings, such as Jacoby Ellsbury, who holds the record for the most times interfered with by a catcher in both a single season and his career.