Two scenarios:
Have you ever called OBS on F3 stretching down the line to catch the thrown ball for the out on the BR? Situation I had last night: B1 hits one to F6, who fields the ball cleanly and throws to F3. The throw is a bit off target and F3 steps towards home with her left foot on the foul line just before receiving the throw. BR is coming directly up the foul line and slows/flinches just as the ball is being caught for the out. In my judgment, the BR had the entire orange section of the bag and an unobstructed 3 foot wide path and could have continued unimpeded. OC disagreed. Besides that, even if I did interpret F3's actions as obstruction, in my judgment, BR would not have attained 1B absent the obstruction, so now where do I place the BR? Am I interpreting this correctly, or should I be looking at this differently?
2nd scenario: B1 hits one between F3 and F4. F3 is playing slightly in front of the bag, F4 behind the baseline between 1B and 2B. F3 gets a glove on the hit ball, knocks it down, picks it up and starts running for 1B. F4 had moved over to back up F3, and when she saw that F3 was able to stop the ball, she starts running for 1B for a possible throw. F3 and F4 arrive at 1B ahead of the BR, and the BR is out. At the last instant, F4 realizes that she won't need to receive a throw and discontinues trying to get to 1B and her momentum carries her behind 1B from the white portion to the orange portion. She's about 2 feet behind the base when this happens. BR puts on the brakes just before reaching the base and manages to avoid a train wreck and they merely half-bump/half-hug each other. OC wants obstruction, which I state isn't possible because the BR had already been retired before F4's actions led to the near-train-wreck. However, it got me thinking, what if F4 stood there BEFORE the BR had been retired and it caused BR to slow down and be put out? Do we have obstruction here?
Have you ever called OBS on F3 stretching down the line to catch the thrown ball for the out on the BR? Situation I had last night: B1 hits one to F6, who fields the ball cleanly and throws to F3. The throw is a bit off target and F3 steps towards home with her left foot on the foul line just before receiving the throw. BR is coming directly up the foul line and slows/flinches just as the ball is being caught for the out. In my judgment, the BR had the entire orange section of the bag and an unobstructed 3 foot wide path and could have continued unimpeded. OC disagreed. Besides that, even if I did interpret F3's actions as obstruction, in my judgment, BR would not have attained 1B absent the obstruction, so now where do I place the BR? Am I interpreting this correctly, or should I be looking at this differently?
2nd scenario: B1 hits one between F3 and F4. F3 is playing slightly in front of the bag, F4 behind the baseline between 1B and 2B. F3 gets a glove on the hit ball, knocks it down, picks it up and starts running for 1B. F4 had moved over to back up F3, and when she saw that F3 was able to stop the ball, she starts running for 1B for a possible throw. F3 and F4 arrive at 1B ahead of the BR, and the BR is out. At the last instant, F4 realizes that she won't need to receive a throw and discontinues trying to get to 1B and her momentum carries her behind 1B from the white portion to the orange portion. She's about 2 feet behind the base when this happens. BR puts on the brakes just before reaching the base and manages to avoid a train wreck and they merely half-bump/half-hug each other. OC wants obstruction, which I state isn't possible because the BR had already been retired before F4's actions led to the near-train-wreck. However, it got me thinking, what if F4 stood there BEFORE the BR had been retired and it caused BR to slow down and be put out? Do we have obstruction here?