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I can't remember every rule and every situation verbatum from a book just because it is a rule. I must try to understand the "why" of a rule. When a ball leaves a bat and starts its journey, the defense has virtually no control over where that ball will travel. Therefore, the priviledges and rights of way belong to the defense. The offense must give 100% right of way to the defense.
Once the defence has posession of the ball and makes a throw, the ball starts a new journey. At this moment in time the defence is supposed to have control of the flight of the ball and nearly all privilidges shift to the offense. Therefore, the defense must yield right of way to the offence; ie defensive players without the ball can not impede or hinder the runner in any.
When these two principles overlap, or butt heads (and they seldom do), we say "that's baseball."
I try real hard, in that 1 to 3 second time frame before I open my mouth, to ask myself, "Who has the right of way? why (what rule)? and did everybody concerned do the right thing?" If they did, and I actually waited the 1 to 3 seconds before I open my mouth, the call is usually clear and easy. Just like pornography, I usually know it when I see it.
I enjoy this hair-splitting threads like this because it makes all of us think.
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