Poor sportsmanship

[Lickety Split]

Am I missing something here-what I see is the runner clearly in foul territory and the catcher with one foot on the line and the majority of her body inside fair territory. The runner makes a real effort about 4 feet from the plate to the chalkline-she changed her path. To me it looks like she was trying to take out the catcher who was standing still.


The runner even tensed up and raised her shoulder/hands anticipating a collision. The catcher never moved her feet-the runner clearly could have avoided a collision but chose not to.

The catcher, who was just standing there in the baseline doing nothing, saw a runner coming, and like you said one who was about to take out the catcher, has to make a choice. She could either take a step or two away from the plate to give the runner room and avoid a collision, or she could deck the runner. The catcher CHOSE to deck the runner. She didn't have to. She could have taken a step or two away, but she didn't, she decided to play dirty. Not once, but twice.

Do you seriously think she was defending herself? Or bracing to defend herself? Do you really think that?

 

[Cannonball]

My understanding of what you said had me believe you were referring to the chalk line as the base path.

To answer your question: "Do you not think the front of the plate, the line, and the area just foul constitute the base path?" I would say no in the case of the second runner due to the almost collision with the 3rd Base Coach. Once the runner adjusts her line to the plate I would argue that the line she has now created straight to the plate +/- 3' is her base path. The first runner seemed to be on a direct line from 3rd to home and again has +/- 3' at her disposal.

Why do I think the base path matters? Only because I teach my girls to slide past home and hand tag the back of the plate in this situation. I also encourage an inside or outside approach to the plate depending on what the catcher offers. Why do I teach this? Because there isn't a single run worth a life long disability because of me teaching kids to run at the catcher.

VA Chris, how can my description of where the 2nd runner has a "straight line" not include the front of the plate, the line and the back of the plate if you are allowing 3 feet? What you teach your runners has nothing to do with this. The catcher is in that path without the ball and in front of at least a portion of the plate. The runner doesn't have any obligation at all to slide here.

 

[Cannonball]

Since the play was not close and the ball was not on the way I think most players have the smarts and agility to both avoid the catcher and still make contact with the plate. Given the situation(s) neither a slide or contact with the catcher was necessary While the actions of the catcher were wholly inappropriate, the base runners now know that when you go looking for trouble it usually finds you.

^^^ THIS ^^^ I'd like to see that catcher give that a while on my kid. There wouldn't be a big enough piece of her *&^ to pick up afterwards.

 

[Eric F]

^^^ THIS ^^^ I'd like to see that catcher give that a while on my kid. There wouldn't be a big enough piece of her *&^ to pick up afterwards.

Thankfully, the two will never meet to test your theory.

 

[NVfishing]

Dirty play. Runner was on outside of baseline and had the right to touch the plate. Catcher threw an elbow both times to intentionally knock the runner off her feet. Most base runners try to touch center of plate so it's clear they're safe. That slight adjustment, to me, was to go center of the plate. I've seen enough umpires miss edge of plate calls when there's no slide.

 

[Aaron Stanley]

The view of the camera here is not down the line but rather from outside foul territory. if you adjust for the angle of the camera you find that the runners are well in foul territory when they approach the plate. The catcher is standing on the line and leans into the runners as they try to cross the plate. The Houston Chronicle article for the game has a good photo from center field position showing point of impact in one of the plays. The catcher clearly leans into the impact.
The catcher didn't have a play on either baserunner and shouldn't have been positioned where she was. Had she been 6 inches further into fair territory there would not have been an issue. Definitely a learning experience for all involved and for any player that has watched the video. Possibly a 'how not to position yourself' lesson or a 'why sliding into home is important' lesson or even a 'MMA guide to catching' lesson.

 

[vdubya]

Needville's bush league catcher Megan Crosby made two dirty plays. That is clear in the video. There should have only been one.

The video has now gone viral, and tomorrow is a new season.

 

[4 girl's dad]

The view of the camera here is not down the line but rather from outside foul territory. if you adjust for the angle of the camera you find that the runners are well in foul territory when they approach the plate. The catcher is standing on the line and leans into the runners as they try to cross the plate. The Houston Chronicle article for the game has a good photo from center field position showing point of impact in one of the plays. The catcher clearly leans into the impact.
The catcher didn't have a play on either baserunner and shouldn't have been positioned where she was. Had she been 6 inches further into fair territory there would not have been an issue. Definitely a learning experience for all involved and for any player that has watched the video. Possibly a 'how not to position yourself' lesson or a 'why sliding into home is important' lesson or even a 'MMA guide to catching' lesson.

Picture from the article on chron.com

 

[vdubya]

Thanks 4 girls. Needville's bush league catcher Megan Crosby is clearly not moving away from, or even standing her ground, but rather going after the runner with a body check. Note that Megan Crosby applies the cheap shot far enough up the line so as to prevent the runner from executing a slide, and also prevents her from approaching the plate cleanly from foul territory. I wonder if this little bully will really get away with this BS, now that the video has gone viral.

 

[AndyS]

Thanks 4 girls. Needville's bush league catcher Megan Crosby is clearly not moving away from, or even standing her ground, but rather going after the runner with a body check. Note that Megan Crosby applies the cheap shot far enough up the line so as to prevent the runner from executing a slide, and also prevents her from approaching the plate cleanly from foul territory. I wonder if this little bully will really get away with this BS, now that the video has gone viral.

Vdub, this seems bizarrely personal to you. Why? If you were not personally involved why personally attack a 17 year old girl as a supposed grownup?