How would you have ruled the play?

[SoCalDad]

One of our 12U rec teams was holding a make-up game tonight and I was watching a bit before my practice started. Bottom of the first saw this play. Runner on second. Batter hits a solid shot to left field. Runner on second is waved home. The left fielder cleanly fields the ball and comes up throwing. The catcher is lined up about a foot in front of home on the 3rd base line. The catcher has her glove out to make the play and the ball bounces off her glove a step before the runner gets to her. Without breaking stride the runner dives over the catcher and touches home plate. During the leap one of the runners knees made contact with the catchers head knocking her over. The umpire rules the runner safe. The other coach protests saying the catcher was not holding the ball at the time the runner started her leap.

How would you have ruled?

 

[mad hornet]

Unless it was malicious contact she should be safe. "Malicious" is umpire's discretion however. With only a step away before the ball bounced off her glove though I say the other coach doesn't have a legit beef as a play was being made.

If I was her coach I would have been on her for not sliding however.

Wait a minute, you said it was a rec game. Does the rec league have a slide rule? If there is a slide rule she should have been out.

 

[ctfastpitch]

Without breaking stride the runner dives over the catcher and touches home plate. During the leap one of the runners knees made contact with the catchers head knocking her over. The umpire rules the runner safe. The other coach protests saying the catcher was not holding the ball at the time the runner started her leap.

How would you have ruled?

Don't think the catcher holding the ball or not makes any difference with the call on the runner. The runner must attempt to avoid contact in either case. If the umpire felt that the leap was an attempt to avoid contact, then no call (although I agree at 12 she should be sliding, not leaping). On the other hand, if the catcher is blocking the plate without the ball, it might have been considered obstruction (if the pitcher backing up the play happened to tag the runner before she touched the plate).

 

[SnocatzDad]

Don't think the catcher holding the ball or not makes any difference with the call on the runner. The runner must attempt to avoid contact in either case. If the umpire felt that the leap was an attempt to avoid contact, then no call (although I agree at 12 she should be sliding, not leaping). On the other hand, if the catcher is blocking the plate without the ball, it might have been considered obstruction (if the pitcher backing up the play happened to tag the runner before she touched the plate).

That's not true. It's not the runners job to avoid contact. It's the catcher's job to not obstruct the runner without the ball. No rule for ASA, NFHS, USSSA, etc requiring a slide, just a rule about not running into a fielder with the ball. Given that the ball was there and a play was attempted, probably wouldn't draw a call either way, but what you described is textbook obstruction on the catcher, not interference on the runner. Fielder may not hinder the baserunner without the ball period. Runner clearly had to change her path (leap over instead of run through the plate) and the fielder did not have the ball. I would look at the leap as an attempt to avoid malicious contact, even if the end result was some contact.

 

[mtnbama]

She tried to avoid contact -- I say no problem at all.

 

[ctfastpitch]

That's not true. It's not the runners job to avoid contact. It's the catcher's job to not obstruct the runner without the ball. No rule for ASA, NFHS, USSSA, etc requiring a slide, just a rule about not running into a fielder with the ball. Given that the ball was there and a play was attempted, probably wouldn't draw a call either way, but what you described is textbook obstruction on the catcher, not interference on the runner. Fielder may not hinder the baserunner without the ball period. Runner clearly had to change her path (leap over instead of run through the plate) and the fielder did not have the ball. I would look at the leap as an attempt to avoid malicious contact, even if the end result was some contact.

I think we are saying almost the same thing, no call on the runner and possible obstruction by the catcher (runner was safe so the obstruction doesn't matter). There is no rule requiring a slide, but the runner cannot intentionally run into the defender. If the catcher was blocking the plate without the ball, then it should be obstruction whether there was contact or not. If the ball and the runner got there at the same time, then it is probably a crash with no call. In this case, the leap seems to be an attempt to avoid that contact so no call.

 

[EP Dad]

Safe.

If the catcher is blocking the plate entirely it's pretty hard to slide through it. If there were a way for her to slide around her somehow I agree she should have slid. Otherwise the girl was probably just trying to avoid contact and score the best she could.

 

[mad hornet]

That's why I asked if the rec league has a rule exception. In the rec league my DD left (and I used to umpire in) there was an enforceable slide rule exception. According to that rule exception the runner would be out for not sliding.

 

[Coach JV]

Our rec league also has a slide rule if there is a play at home. Otherwise it looks like catcher interference.

 

[SoCalDad]

That's why I asked if the rec league has a rule exception. In the rec league my DD left (and I used to umpire in) there was an enforceable slide rule exception. According to that rule exception the runner would be out for not sliding.

The league has an avoid contact rule not a must slide (below is the actual rule). Since our rule specifies avoid contact the umpire was correct in ruling the runner safe in accordance with ASA 7.Q and as it described in R/S #13. The contact with the catchers head was incidental and clearly not intentional.

Rules Supplement Number 13, Crashing into a Fielder with a Ball (Interference). In order to prevent injury and protect the defensive player attempting to make a play on a runner, the runner must be called out if she remains on her feet and crashes into a defensive player holding the ball and waiting to apply a tag, or if the defensive player is about to receive a thrown ball. In order to prevent the crash ruling, the runner can slide, jump over the top of the defender holding the ball, go around the defender (if outside the three foot lane, the runner would be called out), or return to the previous base touched.

12. A base runner is not required to slide, but must attempt to avoid collision or will be called out.