Umpires' Guide: Batter Hit by Pitch - Strike vs. Interference

Question
I was the home umpire of a game when I had a weird event happen. The batter was watching a pitch come in to the plate and as the ball was getting close, he leaned over the plate and the ball hit him in the shoulder. When the ball deflected off his shoulder it hit the plate, not that this really matters, but did I make the right call in calling it a strike? Is this considered interference, and should the batter have been automatically out? Any help would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Nathan,

Here's what you need, it's actually not that weird, happens occasionally....if the ball hit the batter while it (the ball) was in the strike zone, it is a strike (and if the batter leans in across the plate, I err on the side that it was probably a strike).  Simple as that, nothing else needs to be done!

Sounds to me like you made the right call.

Mark