[Jim Porter]

Bfair,

I know we've corresponded privately on this matter. Rather than replying to your last e-mail, I felt it would be a better idea for me to explain myself in public.

First of all, I have never, in 19 years of calling baseball, seen an injury from a blocked base during a pick-off. I'm not saying that they don't happen, nor am I saying that I dispute your facts on the matter. But, quite frankly, I have seen far more injuries from runners getting hit by errant throws (happened twice this year alone, and one player had to have his jaw wired shut) than I have from fielder to runner contact. And I'm not about propose foam baseballs.

My point is this: injuries happen. Injuries are to be expected at every level of every sport. Baseball has a far less potential for serious injury than football or hockey. Just because injuries happen does not necessarily mean that we have to run right out there and change the rules or interpretations. As I've said before, even sitting in a Lay-Z-Boy recliner your whole life can lead to disabling back problems. Atheletes are atheletes because they put their bodies on the line. They push themselves to the brink of performance. Injuries, I'm afraid, are inevitable.

I said to you in private that something awfully strange or bizarre would have to happen in order for me to call obstruction during a pick-off. This is what I mean:

If the ball arrives before the runner, this is a non-issue. The first baseman, no matter when he actually blocks the base, at the moment he gains possession, has a right given to him by the rules to be there.

If the runner beats the ball by a considerable amount, and has absolutely no way to get to the base, no one would argue that this ain't obstruction. Obviously it is. Runner gets blocked, a moment goes by, F3 catches the ball and places the tag. That's obstruction. But it is also so rare that I have yet to see it. Almost always the runner has an avenue to the base, and uses that avenue. It takes an accomplished goalie to successfully block a base from a runner who wants to get there.

So what we're talking about is in between these two scenarios. We're talking about a very small percentage of a very small percentage of plays. If F3 blocks the bag, and if the pitcher's throw is off the mark, and if the runner has no access to the bag, and if F3's body goes in two different directions - if, if, if, if, if - - you see where I'm going. We could "if" obstruction to death.

Consider a typical youth player on the 90-foot diamond is 5 feet 10 inches tall (just a guess, insert your guess here.) That gives the pitcher plenty of room for error. This F3 could easily catch the ball, and in the same continuous flow of movement in an effort to glove the ball, move to block the base. It's been done for generations. The act of fielding the ball gives F3 the right to do it, by the rules.

It wouldn't be strange to see a throw that is so off the mark that such a continuous flow of movement is impossible. We see throwing errors all the time. What would be strange is if F3 would force his body in two directions to both catch the ball and still successfully block all access to the base from the runner. It would take an especially physically gifted F3 to pull that off. Considering most F3's are taught to catch the ball first and worry about the runner later, such a scenario would be rare, strange, and bizarre.