At what point does it become obstruction?

[Dabears17]

I had an umpire this weekend say its happens all the time and he wasn't going to call it when I asked him for the call. After the inning was over and he saw my player was hurt after a close play at home (called out) after the obstruction, he called me over and changed his story to he had been watching for a potential play at second and hadn't see the obstruction at third.

I don't want to teach the girls to make contact, but I almost never see it called and the umpires almost always use the excuse they want contact to make the call. I understand fully if there is obstruction and the girl wouldn't have made it safely in their judgement to the next base, she is still out.

What do you teach the girls to do if they are obstructed? There are coaches out there who teach girls to obstruct because they know it is rarely called.

I teach my girls to leave a path open to the bag for the runner to make the corner or abandon the bag if there is no play.

 

[obbay]

I teach mine the same, leave a route but be ready to shut the door with the tag.
There are coaches who teach their players that if they knock the ball loose in a collision, they will be safe.

 

[MTR]

Bottom line is obstruction will usually not be called unless there is contact. I've had dozens of umpires tell me this.
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Then you have some uninformed people pretending to be umpires. It certainly is not taught that way and specific to the point it is noted in the rules. If you have people tell you it is taught that way, it is someone who has placed their opinion and attitude above the game and the rules under which the teams elected to play the game.

BTW, if that is what an umpire tells you, it makes that "judgment" call a rule misinterpretation and may be protested. Also, AJaywill, and other umpires on this and other boards, know a few umpires, many which do the training for ASA & NFHS in the PNW, and I think every one of them will tell you what you are being told or believe is not how the umpires in that area are trained.

 

[ktm rider]

I'm not saying it is right or wrong but in my entire playing career from LL all the way through college I was taught to block the bag when the throw came down from the catcher to third on a steal or a throw from the field. I Iwas called for obstruction a grand total on 1 time.

FYI- you gotta kinda "sell it" to the ump and not stay in the blocking position for long and it is VERY dependent on the type of throw. A bouncing throw is always a great throw for blocking the bag.

Granted I am talking about baseball. So, the rule could be totally different in softball.

 

[MTR]

I'm not saying it is right or wrong but in my entire playing career from LL all the way through college I was taught to block the bag when the throw came down from the catcher to third on a steal or a throw from the field. I Iwas called for obstruction a grand total on 1 time.

FYI- you gotta kinda "sell it" to the ump and not stay in the blocking position for long and it is VERY dependent on the type of throw. A bouncing throw is always a great throw for blocking the bag.

Granted I am talking about baseball. So, the rule could be totally different in softball.

It is as in many, if not most, baseball allows the defender to set up when the throw is on the way. I know there are some out there closer to softball, but not sure if that is the norm.

From MLB Rules:

OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

Rule 2.00 (Obstruction) Comment: If a fielder is about to receive a thrown ball and if the ball is in flight directly toward and near enough to the fielder so he must occupy his position to receive the ball he may be considered “in the act of fielding a ball.” It is entirely up to the judgment of the umpire as to whether a fielder is in the act of fielding a ball. After a fielder has made an attempt to field a ball and missed, he can no longer be in the “act of fielding” the ball. For example: an infielder dives at a ground ball and the ball passes him and he continues to lie on the ground and delays the progress of the runner, he very likely has obstructed the runner.

 

[Bchbum54]

Ok, here is an obstruction call I had a hard time accepting. My DD had an 2-0 count while batting, runner on second. On the next pitch, runner takes a big lead, as soon as the catcher got the ball she popped up. My DD started to take a step back to give the catcher a clear path to third. As she is doing this, the catcher also stepped back and almost behind my DD almost simultaneously. My DD noticed this and stepped back into the batters box. The runner on second never committed to stealing 3rd and the catcher never made contact or threw the ball down to 3rd. My DD was called out for obstruction.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, there is also another obstruction threat going on and it didn't make sense to start another.

 

[Comp]

Ok, here is an obstruction call I had a hard time accepting. My DD had an 2-0 count while batting, runner on second. On the next pitch, runner takes a big lead, as soon as the catcher got the ball she popped up. My DD started to take a step back to give the catcher a clear path to third. As she is doing this, the catcher also stepped back and almost behind my DD almost simultaneously. My DD noticed this and stepped back into the batters box. The runner on second never committed to stealing 3rd and the catcher never made contact or threw the ball down to 3rd. My DD was called out for obstruction.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, there is also another obstruction threat going on and it didn't make sense to start another.

She wasnt called for obstruction, she was called for interference. Defense obstructs, offense interferes. In situations such as this, the batter needs to stay in position in the batters box. As long as they dont move around they are protected from being called for interference, as long as the play is not at home plate. If the batter does start moving around in the batters box they can be called for interference if they interfere with the catchers ability to make a play.

 

[mgardner]

obstruction only occurs when a defender does not have the ball or is not going for the ball and is in the way of a runner and contact occurs.

Bottom line is obstruction will usually not be called unless there is contact.

I do know how the rules are written, but I also know how they're called.

The OP asked "at what point does it become obstruction". The rules are consistent, unlike "how they're called". Bad calls are often a reality many of us choose to live with, sometimes due to ignorance of the rules and sometimes because there is no point in arguing it, but with an uderstanding of the written rules we have the knowledge to protest in situations we choose to.

 

[Bchbum54]

She wasnt called for obstruction, she was called for interference. Defense obstructs, offense interferes.

Ok, the blue called it obstruction cause believe me all our fans where going crazy and wanted to know was that call he made. It was frustrating cause DD didn't move a lot, she just had a hesitance half step back and when she realized the catcher was moving in the same direction she quickly moved back to her original position. It was obvious that her initial intention was to remove her self from the play. It happened so fast and the play never went down (runner stayed on second and no throwdown was made). I just had a hard time accepting it cause I didn't understand the rule completely and I've always hear from several other blues/HCs "no contact, no obstruction" since that was the call on the field

 

[Comp]

If the umpire called it obstruction he was incorrect in his terminology. There must also be a play for the batter to interfere with, if the runner was not really advancing and no throw was attempted I really dont see where there would be an interference call. But again, especially with runners on base batters need to learn to freeze in the batters box. If they are moving around and interfere with the catcher they can be called out for interference. Plays at the plate the batter must get out of the way of any possible play.