Originally Posted by
fitump56
Originally Posted by TwoBits
The current softball FED rule considers denying a base without possession of the ball as obstruction, so my comments are assuming (yes, I know, assume) that this will be the model for FED baseball as well.
In FED softball, their are no more train wrecks. You either have:
a) Fielder has ball, runner contacts fielder for a tag out, interference, and/or malicious contact.
b) Fielder does not have ball, runner contacts fielder (unintenionally), obstruction on the fielder.
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What if? Excellent question. What will be the standard for this discussion because no matter what you call, it isn't covered in the above.
I Googled around for discussions about these plays which fall between the cracks and for plays where it is impossible to tell if a person is safe or out. The one I found that I liked the most, and intend to adopt, is the concept of rewarding the better play.
In this case, the better play is R advancing since we have F with an error. Since the rule only has two options, and I now have decided to make the interp favor R, then we have OBS.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Eastshire
So the consensus is that a fielder who loses control of the ball during a tag will be guilty of obstruction?
That seems reasonable on a play where the runner is advancing (1 base award will put him where he would have been under the old rule) but unfair where the runner is returning (pick off at 2nd, F6 loses the ball on the tag, runner gets 3rd).
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Unfair, possibly, but I would always lean to the Offense side on OBS with the onus on D to get out of the way. Under the concept of rewarding the better play, the better play is R not the F with an E. If they come up with some other interp, and I doubt they can unlesds they start getting video specific about OBS, then you have to have some mechanism to defend your position on theis new OBS rule.
Once again, the OBR and its variations, always have gaps, what are you going to use to decide how to handle those gaps? This new rule, I am sure it is well intentioned, opens more gaps.
