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obstruction
Come on guys! If a fielder "impedes" progress (of course when not in the act of fielding a thrown or batted ball) of a runner it is OBSTRUCTION. If the obstruction takes the runner out of his baseline (the runner's PREFERRED line around the bases) and the runner misses the base because of this obstruction it is nonsense to uphold any appeal for the missed base. To uphold any appeals would turn the basepaths into an obstacle course. I agree that the runner should touch a base if he has a free and clear path and the obstruction occurs far enough away to allow the clear path to AND from the base when the runner is not stopping at that base.
What would prevent a fielder from planting a foot on the inside corner of second base, third base, or even first base on extra base hits? Good coaches teach runners to hit these corners when running the bases.
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