If it was just a straight steal of 3b, she should have just been awarded 3b. No automatic of next base.If it’s wrong to ask a question on a topic similar to to topic post let me know, sorry. Girl was stealing 3rd but catcher didn’t throw, third baseman covering bag so other coach had girl run into her so that obstruction was called and runner could come home. Do you automatically get next base or is it umpires judgement? I would think it been just staying at 3rd. Didn’t feel like it had anything to do with stopping runner from advancing home.
I forget exactly how it went but something like that. Not sure when a player would get awarded if catcher has ball and it’s obvious she wouldn’t make it home.If it was just a straight steal of 3b, she should have just been awarded 3b. No automatic of next base.
So the runner only gets a base if umpire believes that runner would have been there if it weren’t for obstruction? So let’s say there was a hard ground ball to third and runner doesn’t get a good jump from short on a force play, SS gets in way of runner. Is that obstruction, when the umpire knew F5 was going to get out anyway ?You said the catcher made no throw, so I am assuming F5 was just standing on 3B and the runner was not headed home. If F5 did not impede, hinder, or confuse the runner, there really was no obstruction. If F5 was not blocking the base, there really was no obstruction. (Then you said the runner was coming home, so I am confused.)
If the coach “had the runner run into the fielder” we could be looking at malicious contact and some ejections. Contact is not necessary for obstruction and no coach should ever teach or encourage that behavior.
Obstruction (in softball) is NOT an automatic award of any bases. (In NFHS baseball it is, even if you were going back.)
In short, it prevents a runner from being called out between the two bases where the obstruction occurred. The award is whatever the umpire believes would have happened had there been no interference. So yes, in theory a girl could be sent back to the last base she touched. You also could have an obstruction and still have the runner called out.
(I am using some verbiage from other organizations, but the concepts are the same.)
So the runner only gets a base if umpire believes that runner would have been there if it weren’t for obstruction? So let’s say there was a hard ground ball to third and runner doesn’t get a good jump from short on a force play, SS gets in way of runner. Is that obstruction, when the umpire knew F5 was going to get out anyway ?