Not sure it's clear what you're getting at. If the BR is in the correct place (running lane) I've got nothing regardless what the catcher does or doesn't do. BR has to be somewhere and that's where she is protected from interference. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're asking.
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Yeah you dont really care what the catcher does. You should be looking to see if there is one foot outside the lines. If a throw is then made and a foot is outside the line, then you need to see how the fielder at 1st base handles the throw. Can she not catch the ball because the ball hits the runner? Can she not stretch for the ball because the runner is in the way? Maybe she flinches as the ball flys by the runners shoulder and that causes her to miss the throw.
The argument is, by causing the C to either alter the way she makes the play or causes her to hesitate the BR is affecting the throw. If the throw is affected, then certainly the fielder receiving the throw is affected. Just as if the throw hits the BR, the BR isn't interfering with the fielder, but rather the throw itself. Yes, she is interfering with the fielder's CHANCE to make the play, but isn't the BR doing the same thing by causing the throw to be delayed?
No that is not how the rule is applied. It talks about the fielder at 1st. The catcher not throwing the ball could be any number of factors. There must be a throw and then once the ball is thrown you judge if the person at 1st could have caught the ball without the runner being outside the running lane
- May 29, 2015
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The language of the rule (using NFHS) ...
8.2.6 ... She runs outside the three-foot (0.91m) lane and, in the judgment of the umpire, interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base (there must be a throw) ...
Here are the elements you MUST have:
Causing problems for the fielder who is in the act of taking the throw is the violation.
So, a throw that hits the runner early enough is NOT a violation. What I am look for is a fielder who is not only prepared to take the throw, but is actively reaching to catch it.
The rule does not say "prevents the opportunity to make the play." It says "taking the throw".
8.2.6 ... She runs outside the three-foot (0.91m) lane and, in the judgment of the umpire, interferes with the fielder taking the throw at first base (there must be a throw) ...
Here are the elements you MUST have:
- BR outside the lane (in NFHS, one foot must be contacting the ground and be completely outside).
- A throw from a fielder ...
- ... that a fielder is attempting to catch.
Causing problems for the fielder who is in the act of taking the throw is the violation.
So, a throw that hits the runner early enough is NOT a violation. What I am look for is a fielder who is not only prepared to take the throw, but is actively reaching to catch it.
The rule does not say "prevents the opportunity to make the play." It says "taking the throw".
@The Man In Blue So, if a BR is at the start of the RL outside of it, and the throw hits her, but otherwise would have been a 'quality throw' (i.e. it could have been caught by the 1B) you are not calling RLI because the BR did not interfere directly with the fielder?
I see what you mean now, but I've got a live ball. I don't see any reason the defense would be disadvantaged by the runner being farther to the right of the running lane which gives the catcher a wider throwing lane and the 1B even more room to make the catch.
I am not saying that the throw was not made, it WAS made, but it was delayed due to the runner being out of the RL. Why is this different than the throw hitting the runner? The runner affected the throw. This in turn affects the ability of the fielder to take the throw.
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mmeece. I agree it is not RLI. The point I was making is the REASON it is not RLI. I am not as convinced, however, if the C has a momentary delay and throws down the line. As an umpire, I am not sure I could say that a runner out of the lane, either side, did not affect the throw made straight down the line. If they affected the throw the affected the ability of the fielder to take the throw. Hence, RLI.
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