[greymule]

I assume from your description that F6 was standing somewhere between 2B and 3B when the collision occurred, not, for example, right on 2B awaiting the runner, where you'd probably call a crash. It's entirely possible that there was no tag. I've seen many fielders, even though they have the ball, fail to tag runners who collide with them.

How they gave the runner 3B I can't imagine. It's not obstruction, because F6 had the ball. Was F6 moving around in the baseline, obstructing the runner while anticipating the throw?

Once I had F6 field a ground ball only to be collided with immediately by the runner from 2B. There was no tag, though, and it wasn't a deliberate crash--it all happened so quickly. And F6 was not nearly in the act of throwing the ball. I was going to let it go, but the players and coaches sort of called the play for me. After the players tumbled to the ground, the runner just sat there, asking the fielder, who was mildly shaken, if she was OK. Then the coaches came out to assess any injuries, and the runner trotted to her bench. I haven't said, "Out," yet, but since everybody in the park apparently thought there was an out, I let it stand.

I guess if they get tangled in each other, it's safe to call an out on a play like that, since there always might have been a tag in there somewhere. However, it would be nice to know what the right call is: infielder fields ball and is unintentionally collided with a split-second later. What if the impact knocks the ball loose? I asked this question at a clinic a few years ago and got a hedging answer. Maybe it is indeed a "no-call wreck"!