Obstruction called on a play at 1st.

[Sparky Guy]

Had my first baseman called for obstruction during a game this fall. I thought the umpire blew the call completely.

Situation:

Ball hit to deep short. SS goes back and fields the ball. SS makes a hurried throw to 1st. The throw takes my first baseman towards the outfield side of the bag. She is stretched out fully trying to get the bad throw. She does not make the catch on the bad throw and falls to the ground after making the attempt. As she is trying to get up to retrieve the ball the batter/runner sees the ball get passed the fielder and breaks towards 2nd. The runner trips over the fielder on the ground and falls over her. The umpire calls her for obstruction.

My argument was it should have been a no call. My player was making a play on a thrown ball. She was not impeding the runner and could not just disappear once the runner made an abrupt direction change.

Did the ump get it right?

 

[Comp]

The only time a defensive player may impede a runner is if they are in the process of fielding a batted ball or have the ball physically in their posession. Based on your description sounds like 100% correct call.

 

[Jackel2168]

Same call as the World Series play.

 

[StingRay]

The only time a defensive player may impede a runner is if they are in the process of fielding a batted ball or have the ball physically in their posession. Based on your description sounds like 100% correct call.

so it has to be hit and not thrown? for the fielder to have a right to obstruct??

 

[Comp]

so it has to be hit and not thrown? for the fielder to have a right to obstruct??

Yes, only softball rule set that has an about to receive clause is the NCAA, and that is defined as the ball being closer to the defender than the runner.

 

[ORBlue]

Right call by Blue....based on how you described it.

Fielding a batted ball, the fielder is protected from the runner....interference if the runner interferes the fielder in fielding the batted ball... (not obstruction....Obstruction by defense...interference by the offense....a good thing for you to remember as a coach...umpires always get a "kick" out of coaches that can't keep that straight....it's a clue to the Blue on how much of the rules the coach really knows)

Attempting to catch a thrown ball or attempting to pick up a thrown ball on the ground.....without the ball the runner can't be obstructed from running.

Your 1st baseman didn't have possession of the ball and she obstructed the runner attempting to move to the base.

The "days of train wrecks" are over......

 

[ORBlue]

And Comp is correct about NCAA....but I assumed you weren't coaching a NCAA team this fall.....

 

[FPump]

As already stated...OBS.
I'm curious though to hear what happened on the play after the umpire called and signaled OBS.

 

[chinamigarden]

On a the ball is past the fielder whether it's hit or thrown the fielder is no longer in the act of fielding a ball. Dive and miss a grounder and then the runner trips over you. Obstruction. You aren't fielding you are just in the way

As to the op yeah it's just like game 3 of the ws

 

[SoCal_Dad]

so it has to be hit and not thrown? for the fielder to have a right to obstruct??

In Softball, yes. Baseball rules include thrown.