CAther Interference

[The Man In Blue]

Thank you Comp — I’m gritting my teeth. It took me a while to learn/remember the difference, then I came up with this: You have to have an O and only one O ... either Offense (interference) or Obstruction (defense).

As for the penalty ... of course, consult your rule set. USA and NFHS is NOT an automatic award of first base and it is NOT an immediate dead ball. It is a delayed dead ball with the offense having the option of accepting the penalty or taking the play as it stands.

As for SESWildfire’s scenario ... you got hosed. Backswing (or follow through depending on your terminology) is interference on the batter. The catcher can only obstruct on the initial swing.

 

[MTR]

If you say so. While I like the wording from an offense v. defense pov, I've never heard it called catcher's obstruction, but I live in the boonies. I thought you could only obstruct a runner.

Been that way for the 40+ years I've been involved in softball

 

[The Man In Blue]

I’ll agree that I grew up in baseball with “catcher’s interference” and the idea of it being a dead ball with an automatic award.

But in softball today ... no.