What to do when catcher is obstructing.

[JumboJack]

It's not the base runners responsibility to avoid an obstructing defender and you can not determine intent, the only thing a baserunner needs to avoid hitting or being hit by is the ball. Baseruuners head is down and they're full speed to the plate and any defender is standing in the way without possessing the ball, contact is the defenders fault, not the base runners.

If defender has the ball and baserunner trucks them, it's the baserunners fault
If defender does not have the ball and baserunner trucks them, it's the defenders fault

You can’t do that anymore…. Period.


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[YOCOACH]

Plain and simple...teach her to hook slide. My kids know how to do it at 12U. They also know that it's used at second and home. A pop-up slide at third. Unless they hear, "You're up!" they're utilizing one of the 2.

 

[Filterbing]

Hard slide, directly into the plate. If the catcher happens to be in the way and contact is made that's just part of the game. What WILL get you ejected is going in standing up and making contact. It seems to me like I see obstruction called less when the player goes out of their way to make a wide slide and reach a hand or foot towards a corner of the plate (this all assumes that the catcher IS obstructing and blocking the plate).

This is basically what happened, she went around and I have seen umps that don't call it if the player decides to go around which is counter to the point of the rule.

 

[Filterbing]

Huh, you're most likely to get hurt running over the catcher, and as a umpire, I'd throw you out for malicious contact. As for the OP, sounds like the umpire didn't make the call, if a runner is hindered from running a baseline due to the catcher blocking the plate, that's obstruction, whether she has to slow down or move to the side, that's it.

I guess I've seen too many get away with it and wanted to know best practice.

 

[radness]

As a runner do your best to get to the plate and be safe without throwing elbows or bull dozing. Doesn't matter what you think obstruction is while running home seeing the catcher, what matters is what the umpire decides to do after they figure it out.

Generally, the runner has zero control of umpires decisions.
Regardless of all attempts.
Because Umpires use judgement...
There will be different interpretations.

Good Sportsmanship lasts way longer than one call by the blue!

 

[ang2bmd]

This happened to my daughter in their last tournament. She was coming home. Catcher completely blocking the plate. My kid isn't huge but is strong and fast. She came in hard sliding through the catcher to get to the plate. She didn't come in high or shoulder lowered just a full speed hard legal slide. She had no path around of behind to the back corner or anywhere. The collision was pretty ugly but her only other choice was to stop and depend on the umpire to make the call.

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