Quote:
Originally posted by scyguy
Had a play last year in quarters of district HS tourn. I am the BU, R3 comes down line toward home, catcher zips ball to 3B and gets runner in rundown. I communicate with PU that I have 3B side, he stays with home side. R3 is advancing toward home, 3B tosses ball toward catcher. R3 dives head first toward the infield side to try and get around catcher. Contact occurs about the time the ball gets to the catcher. Right shoulder of R3 hits catcher with enough force to put catcher on his tail. Ball comes loose. Catcher hits his head on field and is down. Blood is visible on back of head.
Now, PU kills it and calls the runner out and ejects him for malicious contact. From where I was standing, I felt that the runner was trying to avoid contact and get around the catcher. He made his call, maybe he saw something that I did not see. Whatever the case, my immediate focus was keeping the 3B coach from my partner.
Now, according to what I am reading on this thread, this is a no call situation. Contact by runner was not intentional. Correct?
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Maybe its just my reading, but in the rundown situation I would give the fielder the benefit of the doubt. How can I as an umpire know what the kid is thinking that hits the catcher. I have to go on my instincts.
You say he hit the catcher and put him on this tail, that's pretty blatant for someone trying to avoid the fielder.
so I'm thinking this was pretty malicious.
Also had a game the other night with F2 getting in the way of the runner with ball about 10 feet away and bouncing to F2.
Coach wants obstruction since F2 didn't have the ball. Of course I say no way he was making the play. (FED game and I'm trying to use their interpretations)
But what I wanted to say was "your stupid runner has all of this room to avoid F2 and he runs right into him??? Now that's great coaching."
Thanks
David