[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by joemoore
Originally posted by blarson

I think the rules would be easier if intent was not the issue.

Unfortunately, concerning interference on thrown balls the word INTENT must be present otherwise the game would be a farce. If the word intent was omitted when speaking about interference on thrown balls, then all a fielder would have to do is purposely throw the ball at the runner to get an interference call.

There are zillions of threads on Obstruction / Interference because they are the 2 most difficult calls in a baseball game even for the PRO Umpire.

Obstruction in the amateur game is made even more difficult because we add that safety caveat "slide / get around" and some umpires do not want to "tip the boat" and are afraid to call it even when it should.

Pete Booth