Obstruction

[Mr T]

Lost our rec championship game by a run.

Critical moment was runners on 1st and 2nd two out. Our batter knocks one to the outfield. I wave my running in to score easily but 3rd baseman is blocking the bag big time. Delays my runner a lot. OF makes good throw, by the time my runner is heading home she is going to be out, the catcher is about to catch ball way ahead of her.

So runner heads back to third.

Home plate ump calls obstruction at that moment when she just starts heading back. I am relieved. However, he says he is sending the runner back to third. I say she would have made it home. I thought this was pretty cookie cutter case. The runner is awarded the base the ump thought she could have reached if the obstruction hadn't occurred, right?

That runner never scored.

He explains it like this:

* when obstruction occurred, he immediately put his arm up

* I, the 3rd base coach, was supposed to notice this signal by him, and also in the 1 second or so be able to yell something to my 9 year old player that would instruct her to run home and not worry about being tagged out, even if the throw was way ahead of her

* since I did not do this, he say the runner is allowed to go safely to the base she was headed to, which was 3rd

I was not aware of any such rules, nor can I find any such requirements placed on coaches or runners in the rule book.

What is the deal on this one?

 

[CoogansBluff]

I believe the umpire is correct. The rule is that obstruction by a fielder may not cost you an out. Your runner was not out. Had she been thrown out at home, then should would've been ruled safe because of obstruction. She chose to return to third.

Also, I don't think there's anything in the rule book that advises coaches on how to coach or runners on how to run in this situation. Could be wrong.

 

[MTR]

Speaking ASA and just about most other rule sets

He explains it like this:

* when obstruction occurred, he immediately put his arm up

* I, the 3rd base coach, was supposed to notice this signal by him, and also in the 1 second or so be able to yell something to my 9 year old player that would instruct her to run home and not worry about being tagged out, even if the throw was way ahead of her

Rubbish. The coach is supposed to coach his/her players, not look for signals for the purpose of making a decision. There is NO requirement that the runner attempt to advance for the purpose of being awarded a base they would have attained safely if not obstructed.

* since I did not do this, he say the runner is allowed to go safely to the base she was headed to, which was 3rd

That would be true if the runner was OBS returning to 3B, or if the umpire judged the runner would have been out if she proceeded home unobstructed.

I was not aware of any such rules, nor can I find any such requirements placed on coaches or runners in the rule book.

Maybe that is because they do not exist.

 

[Mr T]

Thanks MTR. Seems to make sense. I didn't describe it perfectly, my player was tagged out after a couple steps back to 3rd by their catcher, and it was at that point that the ump called the ball dead.

If I understand the rules now, the ump was correct to immediately signal a delayed dead ball. The ump was also correct to not call the ball dead until my runner was tagged out, as we could have possibly attained more bases on bad throws.

But the ump was incorrect in sending the runner back to 3rd. I saw something about obstruction in rundowns in the supplemental section of my '11 rule book. That must have been what the ump thought applied. The obstruction did not occur in the rundown though, and the critical thrust of the obstruction rule, awarding the base the runner would have made it to, should have been the deciding factor here.

 

[Ajaywill]

...But the ump was incorrect in sending the runner back to 3rd...

Don't know if he was incorrect or not, but his explanation was certainly screwy....

The base award is a judgement call by the umpire...it could very well be that your judgement and his judgement were not the same...happens all the time.

 

[Mr T]

I'm saying incorrect because in his explanation he agreed she could have scored had obstruction not occurred.

 

[Comp]

If he in fact stated this and still put her at 3rd, then you should learn the word "protest".