obstution and interference?

[blighdog]

Whats the difference?

 

[Comp]

Defense obstructs, offense interferes.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I was watching some of my LL girls play in the All Star trnmt. and the first baseman stepped down the baseline toward the runner. She did not have the ball. She blocked the runner from the base. Then, the ball arrived and the runner had never touched the base. "Out!" The first base coach immediately started yelling for "interference." What he meant was "obstruction." The defense had obstructed. The runner had not interfered.

 

[MTR]

I was watching some of my LL girls play in the All Star trnmt. and the first baseman stepped down the baseline toward the runner. She did not have the ball. She blocked the runner from the base. Then, the ball arrived and the runner had never touched the base. "Out!" The first base coach immediately started yelling for "interference." What he meant was "obstruction." The defense had obstructed. The runner had not interfered.

Well, maybe. much of LL is based upon baseball rules and terminology.

 

[Ajaywill]

Nutshell definition:

Obstruction is the act of a defensive player, without the ball or making a play on the ball, preventing a baserunner from running the bases unhindered.

Interference is the act of an offensive player hindering a defensive players attempt to field or play the ball.

There is much more detail to these rules, but that is the basics.

 

[BB875]

Defense obstructs & offense interferes has always been my understanding, too.

I love it when my catchers obstruct the runner sliding into home.(aka blocking the plate). To a point, that is...

However, I don't want my batter-runner to interefere with the throw to first after a sweet bunt by running in fair territory and their catcher beans my runner in the back...

Just two examples they way I see it.

 

[BretMan]

Well, maybe. much of LL is based upon baseball rules and terminology.

Working both sports, the only instance off the top of my head where the terminology differs is with catcher obstruction. Under "Official Baseball Rules" (OBR- the rules upon which professional baseball are based) the rule book does refer to catcher interference.

Little League, being derived from OBR may use catcher interference to describe what the rest of the softball world knows as catcher obstruction. (I'm not really sure, since I've never worked Little League ball.)

I can't think of any other instance where they flip-flop the terms "interference" and "obstruction" to mean the same thing.