Sal,
With all due respect, this cannot be Type A obstruction. At the time of the obstruction, the ball was in the air, true. However the ball was in the air as the result of the batter hitting the ball. The only play being made at that point was on the BR. It was his ball that was hit and the outfielder was making a play on the BR by catching his flyball and recording an out on the BR.
The note you refer to in 7.06 (a) refers to a thrown ball in flight
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The ball is immediately dead when this signal is given; however, should a thrown ball be in flight before the obstruction is called by the umpire, the runners are to be awarded such bases on wild throws as they would have been awarded had not obstruction occurred. On a play where a runner was trapped between second and third and obstructed by the third baseman going into third base while the throw is in flight from the shortstop, if such throw goes into the dugout the obstructed runner is to be awarded home base.
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The situation you refered to from the Evan's baseball academy involves Type A obstruction because the ball in flight resulted from a continuing play on the runner, ie. being caught in a rundown.
The call of obstruction in this case was made while a ball was in the air, but the play being made on that ball in the air was being made on the BR, since it was his fly ball.
How can you argue, if a fly ball is in the air and obstruction is called relating to F3, that a play was being made on F3? I don't think you can really because the play is going to be made on the BR, by catching his fly ball.
I agree with you in wanting to punish the defense, which is why I recommend ejecting the offender.
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Originally posted by Sal Giaco
Atl Blue,
Emmel's call was Type A Obstruction (not Type B) and he did use the proper mechanic for Type A Obstruction. As I explained, this is one of those rare times that you DON'T kill the play immediately for Type A Obstruction because the ball was in flight BEFORE the obstruction occurred (see OBR 7.06(a) italics paragraph). We worked on this Type A obstruction drill in umpire school (although it was with rundowns rather than this specific scenario) and the instructors would watch to see if we killed the play at the appropiate time.
Emmel did the right thing by NOT killing the play immediately because if he did and that fly ball was then dropped or turns into a double, then you essentially penalized the offensive (keep them from getting more bases) for an illegal act by the defense. As soon as the batted ball was caught, Emmel stopped play and enforced the appropiate penalty for Type A Obstruction - automatic one base award.
We all agree that what the SS did was Obstruction - so you have two choices to penalize his actions. You can't use the Type B penalty for this situation because the runner could/would not have scored after the all play ceased (which in essence, gives the defense an unfair advantage because they would NOT be penalized for purposely trying to obstruct the runner's view). The result of Type B penalty for this play would have been a mere "slap on the wrist" which obviously is not right considering what the SS tried to do.
So that leaves the Type A obstruction penalty (automatic one base award) as the only logical choice to use for this particular situation. This penalty not only "fits the crime better" but also discourages players from attempting to do the same thing again. Although the mechanic used for this play was different than what we would nomally do for Type A Obstruction, the penalty is still the same.
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