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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
Since the runner establishes his own basepath between bases (and is not necessarily the direct line between bases), it is the fielder's responsibility not to alter the runner's path in any way. I didn't see the play, but Inge must have caused the runner to slow down or change his course in some manner.
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In our clinic for new softball officials, we describe it this way:
If you pull your car in the driveway, and little Susie has left her tricycle in the middle of it, and has cuased to to either slow down, stop, or swerve to miss it, you have been obstructed...just substitute a base runner for the car, and a fielder for the tricycle.....
I had an errant throw on a R going into 3rd, with both the C and P going after it...the R continued on to HP...the P, realizing this, stopped her pursuit and ended up going down the baseline about 2 ft in front of the R...I banged them for OBS, even though the P ended up getting the throw from the C and tagging the runner - IMO, the P had slowed R up enough to keep her from getting HP safely...which I tried very patiently to explain to the coach before ejecting him......
and of course the idiot fans all think contact has to be made....
When McCarver was doing Phillies, Mets and Yankee broadcasts, he ALWAYS got OBS and INT mixed up....
and dont get me started on Morgan.....