When is it Obstruction?

[02Crush]

The Catcher throws the ball back to pitcher after a pitch...not looking the 3rd base runner has been gaining a bigger and bigger lead....Finally after a 3 pitches the runner waits and breaks for home as soon as the catcher throws to the pitcher.
Pitcher fires ball back to catcher b/c the runner is barreling down the line to come home.
Batter does not depart the Batters box thus blocking the catcher from a play on the runner.
The Batter finally moves at the last second as the runner starts her slide....Catcher could not even apply a tag...
Is this obstruction?
Thanks everyone in advance.

 

[Comp]

Your question sounds more like you are asking about interference on the batter. The defense obstructs, offense interferes. The play you are describing is a had to be there to see it play, but, the batters box is not a safe haven for the batter when there is a play at the plate. If the batter prevented the catcher from making a play on the runner, the batter should have been called for interference.

 

[MTR]

The Catcher throws the ball back to pitcher after a pitch...not looking the 3rd base runner has been gaining a bigger and bigger lead....Finally after a 3 pitches the runner waits and breaks for home as soon as the catcher throws to the pitcher.
Pitcher fires ball back to catcher b/c the runner is barreling down the line to come home.
Batter does not depart the Batters box thus blocking the catcher from a play on the runner.
The Batter finally moves at the last second as the runner starts her slide....Catcher could not even apply a tag...

How was the batter blocking the catcher from covering the plate?

 

[Momo'sDad]

The Catcher throws the ball back to pitcher after a pitch...not looking the 3rd base runner has been gaining a bigger and bigger lead....Finally after a 3 pitches the runner waits and breaks for home as soon as the catcher throws to the pitcher.
Pitcher fires ball back to catcher b/c the runner is barreling down the line to come home.
Batter does not depart the Batters box thus blocking the catcher from a play on the runner.
The Batter finally moves at the last second as the runner starts her slide....Catcher could not even apply a tag...
Is this obstruction?
Thanks everyone in advance.

Rookie. A lot of new coaches and parents in the stands think obstruction and interference are interchangeable terms. You know the difference now, so make sure your parents do, too.

It sounds like you're saying the catcher has caught the throw before the runner from 3 has reached home. Is that the case? If she's positioned at the plate and has the ball in her possession, then as soon as the batter moves out of the way, the approaching runner has nowhere to go except directly into the tag that awaits her. What are we missing?

 

[02Crush]

Catcher is approaching the plate. She cannot get in place to block wit the ball b/c the batter stood in place not moving until the last second. My Catcher tried to re position and in that movement the slide occurred and the batter finally moved. I coach my girls to get out of the box on a passed ball or anything that could be a play at home. Do not get called for getting in the way. Am I wrong there?

 

[Momo'sDad]

As to the question of whether there was interference on this play, I'll have to defer to Comp and MTR, but yes, you are correct in teaching your batters to get out of the way when the ball gets away from the catcher and you've got a runner on 3rd. That runner needs a nice, clear path to the plate.

Where - in relation to the plate - was your catcher when she received the throw back from the pitcher? I think I can give you pretty good solution if you tell me that.

 

[MTR]

How was the batter blocking the catcher from covering the plate?

Even though this is a HTBT scenario, still need an idea of how the batter interfered with the catcher.

 

[Ken B]

Did the batter, by moving out of the box, interfere with the catcher running to the baseline to make the tag? Or, did the batter remain in the box as the play unfolded and happened to be in the way of the catcher?

 

[02Crush]

Wish I could draw a diagram. Here is the best I could describe it.
Catcher receives the ball from the pitcher. Batter brings feet together and watches the catcher rise up and catch the ball.
Catcher attempts to come back into position (plate between her legs and straddling the baseline to apply a tag on the potential incoming runner) the batter remains in place not moving....Runner comes in...Parents yelling get out of the way...Batter turns and looks down third baseline....Gets out of the way...Catcher could never get into place to make a play. My catcher stepped out and tried to go around the batter and by then the runner was sliding in while batter backed out. Hopes that makes sense. Looked as if this was coached up..As if the Batters box is a safe haven while a play is happening.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Wish I could draw a diagram. Here is the best I could describe it.
Catcher receives the ball from the pitcher. Batter brings feet together and watches the catcher rise up and catch the ball.
Catcher attempts to come back into position (plate between her legs and straddling the baseline to apply a tag on the potential incoming runner) the batter remains in place not moving....Runner comes in...Parents yelling get out of the way...Batter turns and looks down third baseline....Gets out of the way...Catcher could never get into place to make a play. My catcher stepped out and tried to go around the batter and by then the runner was sliding in while batter backed out. Hopes that makes sense. Looked as if this was coached up..As if the Batters box is a safe haven while a play is happening.

Ok, you're saying that the catcher was behind the plate when she made the catch.

Then you say there's some additional repositioning and finally batter movement, but none of that's necessary if the catcher merely gets down over the plate with the ball in her glove to apply the tag if the runner attempts to slide in. The space between the plate and the batter's box is more than sufficient to place the glove at a point where the tag would be applied before the runner had any chance of contacting the plate.

Based on what you've described, I would teach the catcher to recognize her position in relation to the approaching runner. Once she's got the ball, she owns the plate! She makes the catch, takes half a step forward, and the runner has only 2 choices at that moment - either slide/run into the tag or try to retreat to 3B since your catcher already has the ball in her glove.

If anything, the batter was impeding her own runner's progress to the plate, so if I'm her coach, I'm teaching her to make sure she gets out of the way when there's a runner on 3rd. She needs to be cognizant of the situation, even if she does not see the sign that the delayed steal is on.