Swampboy posted:The umpire's warning was an appropriate way of handling an oddity in the rule about follow through interference.
If the bat hits the catcher after the batter has swung at a pitch and hinders action at home plate or the catcher's attempt to play on a runner, it's followthrough interference, and the umpire starts calling people out and sending runners back.
However, if there's no action to hinder--say on a foul ball or a swing with less than two strikes and no runners on base--the same followthrough is not interference and incurs no penalty.
That doesn't mean it's okay to conk the catcher in the head with a bat.
Warning the batter is a reasonable response to avoid repeating an unsafe situation.
I would have to see video of each swing/contact. My lefty swinging son has hit catcher's on the glove arm before on an inside and low pitch where the catcher reaches forward to catch it as a backhand. Think of the catchers glove reaching out to catch a ball that almost hits lefty batters back foot. Backswing hits catcher in arm. Catcher is hurt, parents go nuts. Umpire warns hitter because of uproar from parents. All batter did was swing at a pitch (he probably shouldn't have).