Quote:
Originally Posted by cookie
...in my 2nd post regarding an F2 who had set up in front of the plate but dropped his knee (shin guard completely blocking the 3rd base side access to the plate) before the throw reached his mitt.
However, the ball reached his mitt before R3 slid into his shin guard that effectively stopped R3's feet from touching home. ... F2's mitt with the ball "securely possessed" within whipped over to his left and tagged the runner out. No OBS call on my part here! I believe Mike said that this call would be in error according to a 2011 Fed Rule - a new rule that I could not find.
"Heading towards" a base is a bit stretching the definition of "attempting to achieve," and also Rule "2-22-3 - (definition of 'Obstruction') The fielder without possession of the ball denies access to the base the runner is attempting to achieve" is not new to the the 2011 Rule Book. It appeared in the 2008 Rule Book when this incident happened in my game...
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2008, 2011, 2020 FED...all we are seeing is the continuing concern to remove unnecessary contact from the game. This priority is echoed in amateur youth leagues internationally.
Point being that if you are a fielder, especially one with a body full of protective gear, get your butt off the baseline unless you have the ball. It's not like there isn't yards and yards of other places you can be while doing duty at your position.
If you refuse and wish to continue to act like a doofus and stand in the baseline without the ball, then expect that you are going to get called for this indiscretion sooner or later.
As an umpire who hears, reads and sees this priority as clear as the summer full moon on a cloudless night, I'm going to lean heavily in my decision making to protect runners and penalize doofi whenever I can.