[greymule]

Last year as BU I had the following play in the Babe Ruth 12u NJ state final:

R1 on 2B, R2 on 1B, no outs. B3 hits a pop fly to short center (not remotely IFR). R1 runs halfway to 3B, but the 3B coach, seeing that the ball is catchable about 20 feet behind 2B, warns her to retreat. F6 runs to 2B to cover the possible force on R2 as well as the possible appeal play on R1. The ball drops in front of F8, who fields it on one hop.

R1, now back on 2B, sees that the ball has dropped and begins to run toward 3B. As F8 releases her throw to 3B, R1 gets tangled with F6 and falls down. A moment later, F5 gloves the ball at 3B for the force. (R2 reaches 2B, B3 reaches 1B.)

There was no doubt that R1 was obstructed in her attempt to advance to 3B, and the 3B coach (whose team plays under ASA rules 99% of the time) naturally wanted OBS. However, at the time the OBS occurred, R1 was 60 feet from 3B, with the ball one second from F5.

I explained to the coach that Babe Ruth rules regarding OBS are taken verbatim from the OBR book, and that OBS that has no bearing on the play is ignored. His answer: "OK. That's the way it should be."