FED rules, R1 on 2nd, 3 &2 on R3 Bottom of 4th one out:
F1 throws ball 4 and R3 starts fro 1st. The Visiting HC comes out and starts to cross the chalk line, I’m the PU and I say “Coach please wait!”. The coach crosses the chalk line, R1 is running for 3rd, and R3 starts for 2nd. The HC is 4 ft inside the chalk line and sees everything happening and yells at F1 to throw to 3rd and he does. There is a tag and the BU rings up R3. The home HC erupts out of the dugout like shot out of a canon and I’m yelling “TIME, THAT’S OBSTRUCTION!”
I calm everyone down and explain to the HC that I have called obstruction and “TO GET OFF MY FIELD OR GO HOME!”
I explain the to the VC that he obstructed the runner because he crossed the chalk line before I acknowledged his request for time and he did not have the “right” to be in fair territory.
I then granted him his time so that he could talk to his pitcher, he said he did not want it now and I stated “Coach, you asked of time, caused all this trouble and you are being charged with one visit to the mound, you might as well use it”.
The game settled down to a normal game and the home team won by 2 runs.
