Quote:
Originally posted by greymule
I agree, Dakota. In such an important area, to use the broad and general phrase "about to receive the ball" and thensomewhere in a POEto define it so narrowly invites trouble.
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I've never had a problem with the "about to receive" clause, either understanding it or enforcing it. I believe this is much like the infield fly where people try to read much more into a rule than necessary.
The change is consistant with ISF, but somewhere along the way you may very well see a play which you are going to want to call one way, but have no choice and rule another.
The new rule means the defender must have possession of the ball or it is obstruction. It is much easier to call, but when you have one where the defender will have the ball in plenty of time, but just loses the handle, the game changes. In the past, the player was allowed to be there because the ball beat the runner. Now when that player looks down to find the ball, any act by the runner to avoid the player or cannot avoid the player, the ruling must be obstruction.
Part of this will not create a bit of a sticky circumstance for some. Anyone out there ever run into the "run them over if they're in your way" coach? Well, I'm afraid that now the you don't have much of a choice but to call obstruction, some of these Gene Mauch wannabe's will see this as a free pass to the plate on a collision.
I know we have rules for this, but that doesn't help the 12-year old that's going to need an ambulance.
Granted, this is a worse-case scenario, but how many of us had discussed what we thought were unlikely plays only to have someone come back and say they experienced exactly what we thought would never happen?
Just thinking out loud,