It is an immediate dead ball when:

• A. The umpire interferes with the catcher attempting to make a throw.
• B. A runner sprains an ankle touching second base and falls to the ground.
• C. The ball is batted with an illegal bat.
• D. A member of the offensive team creates a distraction for the purpose of causing the opposing pitcher to balk.

Answer: (C)

When a ball becomes dead immediately, it’s because a violation stops the play at once. An illegal bat is one of those direct violations that ends the action right there, before the ball can be further played. If the batter hits with an illegal bat, the ball is dead instantly, the batter is out, and runners return to the bases they occupied at the time of the pitch.

The other scenarios don’t cause an immediate stop in the same way: injuries don’t automatically halt the ball at the moment of contact, a distraction aiming to induce a balk isn’t an automatic immediate dead ball, and umpire interference is handled by the rule with its own timing, not simply at the instant of contact.