Quote:
Originally posted by WestMichBlue
And you, Mike, are on record on this forum as stating that, "when the ball is closer," that it will reach the defender before the runner 99.99999999999999% of the time. Thus the defender has the ball - no "about to receive."
So if "about to receive" basically does not exist, then why not just get rid of it totally.
|
Because the fielder is "about to receive" or the ball is "closer to the fielder" is not even in the same ball park as a fielder "not in possession of the ball."
The previous rule allowed the fielder to move into the basepath as the ball approached. Much like the retired runner between bases, we can not expect the fielder to just go "poof" and disappear the moment they muff the attempt to catch the ball or miss it all together.
The new rule changes the mechanics of the fielder in their attempt to retire a runner via a tag out. The new rule attempts to push the fielder out of way and give the runner a clear base path unless that fielder actually gains possession of the ball prior to moving into the runner's path.
This will alleviate many dangerous collisions and not so much because of the change, but because the change is drastic to the point that coaches have been forced to realize that there is no longer a grey area and they are more likely to lose an out and risk player injury for no good reason. Please don't read that as condoning the risk of injury for an out, I do not. However, we have all seen coaches teach kids to drop to their knee an block a sliding runner without the ball hoping to get the ball and the call.