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Originally posted by greymule

Obstruction is one if not the most difficult call in baseball even for the PRO Umpire. The question to be answerd by the the umpire is:

Did a Fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball , impede the progress of any runner. You can look up the OBR rule and various authoritative opinions to determine the meaning of what constitutues in the act of fielding a ball

Basically, it means does the Fielder need to occupy that space in order to field the ball. It does not mean that the Fielder can merely stand there or set-up there when the ball is in the outfield some-place.

In FED, at least in the association I belong to, the term in the act of fielding the ball means Is the ball directly on route or on a bounce to the Fielder.

Now I'll attempt to take your scenarios:

1. Should obstruction ever simply be ignored because it would have had no bearing on the play?

The answer is no. it's not our job to determine the bearing on a play. How do we actually know what coulda, woulda, shoulda happen. All we know at the time of the infraction is that someone is guilty of a rule violation.

We do however, take into account the merits of the play in making base awards, ie; was the ball bobbled in the outfield in which case we might protect a runner to an add'l base, etc.

If someone obstructs, we signal and call that's obstruction and depending upon the play it's either a delayed call (Type "B" BTW in FED always type 'B") or Immediate (Type "A")

If it's type "A" the runner gets at least a 1 base award, if it's type "B" we might give the runner a one base award or protect the runner back to his "retreat to" base. It's umpire judgement as to where to place runners under Type "B"

In FED, as mentioned always Type "B" and the obstructed runner is ALWAYS awarded a minimum of one base beyond his /her position on base when the obstruction occured (FED rule 8-3-2)

Example from a play I had: R1 on 1B, R2 on 2B, 2 outs. B3 hit a hard one-hopper that F5 backhanded near 3B. Just before F5 stepped on 3B for the inning-ending force out, R2, 70 feet from 3B, collided with and fell over F6, who was standing in the baseline.

I let the out stand and didn't get much squawking from the offense. I did caution fielders to stay out of the way of runners, though.

The question? did r2 make a "B" line for F6 as to "draw the Obstruction Call"? If that's the case that a good non call if however, F6 was lazy and standing in the base-path, then we have Obstruction and since there was a play on the obstructed runner, the Force out attempt by F5 we have Type "A" and the call is TIME You number 23 third base.

It's irrelevant that F5 would have recorded the out anyway. The issue is was R2 obstructed by F6? if you answer yes to that question then the defense is going to get penalized.

Here's another one, from a few years later:

B1 hit a ball that spun off a corner of the plate and then rolled 15 feet up the 1B line, about a foot fair. B1 stood still and F2 walked up the line to get the ball, both players thinking the ball to be foul.

I figured I shouldn't say, "Fair," but I did point fair with my arm. F1 came in to field the ball, while the (lazy) F2 started to walk back to his position. B1 still didn't move. Then the offensive coach yelled to B1 to run. As F1 was throwing the ball to 1B for the out, B1 collided with F2, who was now 6 feet up the line from home.

Again I let the out stand, but the offensive coaches wanted to know why I hadn't called obstruction. I came up with the excuse that the batter started so late that the catcher figured he had abandoned his effort, etc.

If F2 was blocking B1's path it's obstruction. F2 can walk back to his / her position without being in the base-path. Your reasoning "the batter started so late that the catcher figured he had abandoned his effort, etc." is not stated in the rules or authoritative opinions.

If someone obstructs and that is judgement, then call it. basically, if a Fielder is not in possession of the ball or in the act of making a play, they have no business being in the base-path of a runner. In addition, a runner can't make a "B' line at a Fielder simply to draw an obstruction call.


And can obstruction be ignored in the following (not-so-rare) case?: R1 on 1B, B2 lines a single to left. F7 charges, takes the ball on one hop, and fires the ball to 3B. R1 rounds 2B and collides with F6 as F5 catches the throw. If you believe that R1 was not actually trying to run to 3B but was just rounding 2B, do you still call obstruction and send him to 3B?

You have obstruction on this play Type "b", and it's judgement as to where to protect r1 to. If as you say you believe that R1 was not actually trying to advance to 3B then simply protect him / her back to second, conversely, if you feel that r1 made a legitimate attempt to advance to the next base, then award him / her that base. Judgement comes into play as to where to place the runners.

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