Quote:
Originally posted by mcrowder
Andy, the idea behind the current rule isn't to penalize the defense. It's to protect the offense, and the enforcement is designed to "make right" what was messed up due to the OBS, not punish the offender.
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I'm well aware of the intent of the rule. I was attempting to address the "If the runner doesn't attempt the next base, I'm not giving it to her" line of thinking.
In my experience, many instances of obstruction result in the runner obtaining the base they would have reached anyway. In these cases, there is no perceived downside for the defense to obstruction. In the cases where we have the opportunity, in umpire judgement, to award an advance base, we should do it to show the defense that there is a downside to committing acts of obstruction.