UmpJM, by your description, the slide would be considered legal, because F2 was crouching down, moving toward a catch and tag. R2's foot was near, but not above standing knee height.
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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
It's slide or avoid contact, not slide and avoid contact. The runner is not required to do both. As long as the slide was legal, so was the contact.
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SanDiegoSteve, I don't have my NFHS rule book with me right now, so I'll accept your quote regarding
or vs.
and. The quote that confuses me here is from the CHSBUA (Colorado High School Baseball Umpire Assoc.) bulletin issued to us coaches at the beginning of the HS season:
Runners never have to slide, but MUST avoid contact.
Additional quotes from this bulletin regarding obstruction:
Obstruction- Fielder blocking a base must have the ball.
- Primarily applies to plays at the plate and pickoffs at first.
- Does not apply to “train wrecks,” etc.
I don't think this situation falls under the "train wreck" catagory.
I'm just trying to figure out how this all fits together. Thanks for the help!
John