Umpire Interference

Question
Situation: 3-man umpiring system, runners on 1st and 2nd.  Batter hits liner past left fielder, r1 scores, r2 rounds third as ball is being returned.  Throw is on foul side of 3B, thirdbaseman moves to catch the ball and collides with the umpire.  Ball goes into dead-ball territory so the runner on third is awarded home.  Is this a judgment call - meaning if in the umpire's judgment, the fielder had no chance to stop the ball from going out of play, the result of the play stands? OR, is it an immediate dead-ball if the umpire interferes with a fielder attempting to catch a ball in play?

Answer
Hi Bill,

This would not be umpire interference, simply bad positioning by the umpire.  Unless the umpire went out on the fly ball the umpire should have button hooked in to in the infield and had the ball's  and F5's position in front of them.  If the umpire went out they shouldn't have been anywhere around 3rd base.

Regardless it is a no call on the umpire and whatever happened, happened.

Mark