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Originally Posted by JJ
I posed this question to the FED folks -
R1 slides into home plate, trying to score. The catcher has caught the ball and is legally blocking the runner's access to home plate. The runner legally contacts the catcher and dislodges the ball. Would the catcher NOW be guilty of obstruction since he is now blocking access to the base while not in possession of the ball?
The official interp from the FED folks is
NO, it's not obstruction, since the runner dislodged the ball.
I have a related question in to them and will post it as soon as I get a reply.
JJ
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My take: I agree with the FED that it's not obstruction -- yet. Usually, when this hapens, R1 "stops" for a moment. In this instant, since he's not trying to advance, there is no obstruction. If he now attempts to reach the plate and F2 is denying access to the base as he's reaching for the dislodged ball, it's now obstruction.