In the top of the sixth inning in Milwaukee, Aaron Judge of the Yankees walked to start the inning. Alex Verdugo then hit a double play grounder. Judge slid properly into second base, but held up his sliding mitt hand and deflected the throw, allowing Verdugo to reach base. Milwaukee asked for clarification, the umpires gathered, and they let the play stand.

Was this interference? There seem to be two rules at work here. The first is the slide rule.

When sliding into a base in an attempt to break up a double play, a runner has to make a “bona fide slide.” Such is defined as the runner making contact with the ground before reaching the base, being able to reach the base with a hand or foot, being able to remain on the base at the completion of the slide (except at home plate) and not changing his path for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder. The slide rule prohibits runners from using a “roll block” or attempting to initiate contact with the fielder by elevating and kicking his leg above the fielder’s knee, throwing his arm or his upper body or grabbing the fielder. When a violation of the slide rule occurs, the offending runner and the batter-runner will be called out.

Accidental contact can occur in the course of a permissible slide, and a runner will not be called for interference if contact is caused by a fielder being in the runner’s legal pathway to the base.

MLB.com

Judge’s slide looked legal to me.

The other rule has to to with interference:

(f) if, in the judgment of the umpire, a base runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of the runner. In no event may bases be run or runs scored because of such action by a runner;

Baseballrulesacademy.com

Now, technically, Judge did not interfere with a batted ball. Nor did he interfere with the fielder.

I can’t find a rule that says you can’t block a thrown ball. If someone else has a rule that applies that, please let me know.

The Yankees went on the score seven runs in that innings, and now lead the Brewers 15-5 in the top of the ninth inning.

Update: The umpires said they missed the call. The play was not reviewable.