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Old Sat Apr 23, 2005, 10:47pm
WestMichBlue WestMichBlue is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 964
You have given us a “he said/she said” story; how can we respond?

”Visitor's team coach took his team off the field in the third inning. . . .”

” Home team coach decided to take his girls off the field.”

So who’s still on the field?

” visitor's coach felt that home team runner didn't slide, or try and avoid contact.”

Runner cannot contact a fielder unless it is a legal slide. Cannot stay on their feet and crash into the defender. Obvious case of interference and the runner should have been called out.

”The home coach said, "Our runner tried to avoid the catcher, it wasn't malicious. The catcher missed the throw and didn't have the ball. Our runner tried to go around her and they met and collided. It was incidental contact”

No, it is not incidental contact; it is obstruction under the NFHS 2005 obstruction rule. The rules committee has issued its interpretation that a defender moving into a runner’s path trying to catch an errant throw is obstruction. Protect the runner to home.

So who do we believe? We either have interference/runner out; or obstruction/runner to home.

Reading between the lines – sounds like something else had happened earlier in the game and this incident was the proverbial straw. Sounds like the visitor’s coach thought he was getting “homered” and that violent action against his team was being protected by the umpires.

But I wasn’t there!

WMB
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