It’s certainly not as rare as a no-hitter, but you definitely don’t see it very often – at least not at baseball’s highest level.

We have now seen it three times in the past week and four times in the last three months – by the same guy.

It is Catcher’s Interference, and all four were committed by Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, including one on Wednesday night that cost the Dodgers the game against the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park.

Major League Baseball defines Catcher’s Interference as follows:

The batter is awarded first base if the catcher (or any other fielder) interferes with him at any point during a pitch.

If first base was occupied at the time of the pitch, the runner who held the base is permitted to move up one base. This also applies if first and second base were occupied or the bases were loaded at the time of the pitch.

If first base had been empty at the time of the pitch, no additional runners are permitted to advance.

When catcher interference occurs, the umpire will allow the play to progress because the outcome of the play may be more desirable than the interference. In that case, the offensive manager can elect to accept the outcome of the play over the interference.

With one out and the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Marlins right fielder Garrett Cooper lined a single to center off of Dodgers right-hander Kenley Jansen, bringing Marlins first baseman Jesús Aguilar to the plate (remember that name, folks). On a 1-2 count, Aguilar swung and missed Jansen’s next pitch, but instead of being the second out of the inning, Aguilar’s bat had hit Barnes’ glove on the swing. Home plate umpire Nestor Ceja immediately ruled the ball dead and awarded Aguilar first base for catcher’s interference, moving Magneuris Sierra, who had entered the game to pinch-run for Cooper, over to second base and into scoring position, still with only one out. Sierra promptly stole third base, and with runners at the corners, Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas popped out to Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor for what should have been the final out of the inning. The next batter, Marlins left fielder Jesús Sánchez, lined a single to left, allowing Sierra to score easily from third.

6-5 Marlins.

After walking Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro, Jansen struck out third baseman Jon Berti to finally end the inning which should have ended four batters earlier.

Dodgers left fielder Zach McKinstry hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6 (instead of a 6-5 Dodgers lead), which undoubtedly would have led to Jansen coming back out to pitch the bottom of the ninth. But with a save situation no longer in play, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to go with 23-year old right-hander Edwin Uceta, who had been recalled from Triple-A OKC three days earlier.

After a single, a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk, and a strikeout (i.e., two outs and runners on first and second), that Aguilar guy came to the plate again. On Uceta’s second pitch, the 6-3″ / 277-pound Aguilar absolutely crushed Uceta’s 93.4-MPH sinker (that didn’t sink) for a devastating walk-off three-run home run to give the Dodgers their third consecutive loss to the National League East last-place Marlins.

“He feels bad about it,” Roberts said of Barnes’ third catcher’s interference in a week and fourth of the season. “Aguilar has a tendency to create those catchers’ interference. It’s sort of a freakish play, but I know Austin has been the victim of that a few times this year. But like I said, he feels bad, and it’s part of the game.”

Doesn’t it seem odd to you that Will Smith has had zero catcher’s interferences this season, or that Dodgers top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz had none in the six games he appeared in with the Dodgers this season and has none at Triple-A Oklahoma City this season?

Perhaps it’s time for the Dodgers to consider making a catcher change instead of making excuses for the guy who now leads the National League in catcher’s interference and is tied for the lead in all of baseball with former Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal

…regardless of how bad he feels about it.

Play Ball!

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