Quote:
Originally posted by Just Curious
Ok... I obviously need help here guys and gals....
Interference.... Obstruction...
It's not about which is which... It's probably more about the subjectiveness of the call..
1. B1 hits a long ball to right field.... F3 is watching F9 chase the ball out to the fence totally oblivious to everything else, but is standing in B1's runnning path. F3 does impede the progress of B1 as she rounds 1B on her way to 2B...... Obstruction
2. R1 on 1B. The delivery and R1 is on her way to 2B. B2 smacks a hard grounder to F4. Timing causes R1 and the ball to intersect over the base path and A.) R1 leaps over the ball to only avoid contact, but impedes the vision of F4, which causes her to lose sight of the ball and the ball get by F4. B.) The ball hits R1..... Intereference
In any of the 3 cases above, none of the actions were intentional. They just played out that way. Why penalized or consider penalizing the situations....
I have seen all of these situations this season and I have a hard time dealing with them because I don't considered them intentional acts.... When the coaches want to comment, to me it's an "Oh Well" call... "Timing was bad coach, but it wasn't intentional..." What part of common sense am I missing here?
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To begin, Sam is right about 2A. If the runner passes in front of a fielder to avoid interference and does so in a unhesitant manner, it is nothing.
Second, there are not penalties for obstruction, just placing runners where they should have been had the defender not been so dumb.
Interference, more often than not, is mostly unintentional, but always seems to rear it's ugly head every now and then. There are two teams on the field. Just because one team isn't on the ball doesn't mean you tilt the field to allow for their shortcomings at the expense of the other team.
Common sense applies to umpiring much like the word consistant. Striving to be consistant does not make someone a better umpire, it just makes them consistant, good or bad.
I often find that when someone refers to "just use common sense" it means their either do not know or disagree with the applicable rule and use the term as justification for their feelings.
Consistency and common sense are positive traits, but are not valid substitutes for knowing and applying the given rules and mechanics when working a game.
JMHO,