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Originally Posted by CLBuffalo
At a HS baseball meeting today the following situation came up. A catcher reaches across the plate to catch a pitch rather than letting the pitch come to the glove. Is this catcher obstruction? I have looked at the definition of Obstruction (2.22 - Obstruction and Fake Tag) and the subsequent references but can not find anything that specifically prohibits this. 2.22 does say in part "... or when a catcher or fielder hinders a batter as in 5-1-2b, 8-1-1e, 8-3-1c and 8-3-2." These references do not specifically list this action as obstruction.
There were some at the meeting who said this could not be called in baseball unless the batter swung at the pitch and contact was made with catcher's glove. I said a catcher could get a broken hand doing this and I was told that was on the catcher. I am used to telling a catcher to back up if I think they are too close to the batter and may get hurt. I can't see letting something develop that is potentially dangerous to any player. This will be my first year doing baseball. I have umpired softball for 22 years and in the Fed Softball Rule Book it does specifically prohibit this action. I appreciate your thoughts and comments.
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The catcher may not reach in front of the plate to catch a pitch, he must let it "come to him." Im sure somebody will be able to provide the appropriate wording from JEA or J/R, but this would be another example of obstruction.