Play at the plate setup

[dadofadirtlover]

Just got through my 1st viewing of the NECC dvd and ran into a setup question. I noticed in the video there was ambiguity about it due to differences of interpretation by umpire. This is something I really want to get a take on, though because there is no idea about what is and is not acceptable at our league right now. It seems to fluctuate. The league "suggestion" was to setup on the 1st base side of the plate and straddle it until the ball came near. Then, advance forward or something. It seemed weird and clunky to me and DD hated it. So, I modified it to have her 1 large step forward and 1 large step to the left and confirm that position wouldn't be considered obstruction before each different umpire we had. None of them had an issue with it, but there was a play at the plate that she almost missed for being that far away.

Since the time of the taping, have any of you noticed an issue with that placement.....or do you use a different placement for positioning there?

 

[Lenski]

The heel of the catcher's left foot should be just inside the 3rd base foul line and a few inches in front of the front left corner (from the catcher's perspective) of home plate.

 

[dadofadirtlover]

The heel of the catcher's left foot should be just inside the 3rd base foul line and a few inches in front of the front left corner (from the catcher's perspective) of home plate.

How can I explain this to the ump pregame so they don't gripe about obstruction.....like they did last season.

 

[Comp]

How can I explain this to the ump pregame so they don't gripe about obstruction.....like they did last season.

Suggestion, don't bring it up during pregame. Nothing has even happened yet and all you are likely to do is start off on a bad note with the umpire.

 

[Lenski]

How can I explain this to the ump pregame so they don't gripe about obstruction.....like they did last season.

I agree with Comp. Heed his advice.

This setup is not obstructing home plate at all. It gives the runner a clear line to home plate.

 

[dadofadirtlover]

Suggestion, don't bring it up during pregame. Nothing has even happened yet and all you are likely to do is start off on a bad note with the umpire.

And here I thought I was avoiding trouble by asking ahead of time.

 

[djcarter1966]

No need to do anything pre game, if it is something that your league wants to clarify overall my guess it has nothing to do with positioning but with interpreting the "in possession" or "receiving the ball" phases in whatever rules set you are using. The umps here can help but in general you can not block the base path without the ball. Which means your catcher can not stand in the base path without the ball, they stand in front until they have the ball then they can block the plate. In other words no positioning yourself in the base path, give the back of the plate to the runner. The person you would want to talk to once your league gets together and makes sure everyone understands the rule is the UIC of your league (actually you should probably have him come over and explain it to you), then whenever they do their training or have their meetings they can make it a point of emphasis.

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

The heel of the catcher's left foot should be just inside the 3rd base foul line and a few inches in front of the front left corner (from the catcher's perspective) of home plate.

This ^^^

DD has been taught this by 3 different instructors (at clinics) and executed it perfectly the first time it came up: made the hard tag for the out (runner never reached HP), and Mr Blue didn't even blink. From this position it is almost impossible to be called for obstruction unless she steps across the foul line before the ball gets there.

 

[Lenski]

This was my dd's freshman year of HS almost 5 years ago. The initial setup had good intentions but sometimes a throw puts you into the "danger zone". The throw came from the left field line and into foul territory.

 

[Stutz]

I agree with earlier statements.
1. Do not bring it up pre-game.
2. Set up just inside of 3rd baseline and step across as you catch the ball.

Anyone who calls obstruction doesn't know what they are doing.