Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckfan1
Thats me on the bases. He did balk. With no runners he had a different set, as you see on the next pitch which was the base hit. With runners he would come set "slower". Hard to tell from this video, but it was a bounce. This was early in the game, and I had told him need to see a better stop.
As for the play at the plate, my partner did a great job of getting position, and waiting for the play to finish. No OBS here. Catcher dropped the ball, and went after it, in doing so, plenty of access to the plate for the runner.
As for the clip I posted on the play with F2 tossing to F1, I dont have anything malicious. But Im leaning towards INT. Whatever R3 did after the play, giving the guy a pat on the tush etc, doesnt negate what happened prior. Hes not sliding "to" the plate. Hes sliding , horizontal, into F1. Trying to dislodge the ball. What we heard in Phoenix was the runner needs to be trying to get to the plate. The plate, in this play is down, straight ahead. Not straight ahead into F1.
Yeah, its not a train wreck, but the runner here, to me, is not trying to get to the plate. Hes trying to get to the plate, up through F1.
Showed this to a long time veteran D1 guy, and he indicated he had INT
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First of all Chuck, thank you for posting the video and congratulations on a nice game. It is always good to discuss things with a frame of reference.
Speaking of videos, the NCAA New Rules piece from 1/28/11 features plays at the plate and the collision rule. Jump to 10:00 in and see what I mean.
Below is what was sent out at the beginning of this month from the NCAA interpreter's office.
(1) The runner must make an actual attempt to reach the base (plate).
If the runner attempted to dislodge the ball or initiated an avoidable collision, the runner shall be declared out, even if the fielder loses possession of the ball. The ball is dead and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the interference.
(2) The runner may not attempt to dislodge the ball from the fielder.
If the contact was flagrant or malicious before the runner’s touching the plate, the runner shall be declared out and also ejected from the contest. The ball is immediately dead and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the interference.
(3) The runner must attempt to avoid a collision if he can reach the base without colliding.
If the contact was flagrant or malicious after the runner had touched the base (plate), the runner will be ruled safe and ejected from the contest. The ball is immediately dead and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the interference. If this occurs at any base other than home, the offending team may replace the runner.
If the contact was after a preceding runner had touched home plate, the preceding runner will be ruled safe. The ball is immediately dead and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the contact.
(4) If the runner’s path to the base is blocked and (1), (2), and (3) are fulfilled, it is considered unavoidable contact.
Rationale: This additional wording assists umpires and teams to better understand the responsibilities of the runner and fielder in situations when a collision occurs.
In the play from your game, the runner meets all criteria. It was simply an ugly slide. The base was blocked and he was trying to reach it - he does not have to slide. How do you call INT on that play? It looks to me that he was planning to go in standing up and then realized there would be a play. He had all of two seconds to adjust from full speed stand up score to uh, oh... (politically correct given the Christian school) If you rule that he intentionally commited a flagrant act then he should have been ejected. I don't see a flagrant act, just a bad slide on a last second adjustment.
Of note also is the NCAA rule regarding a pick off play. In NCAA ball the fielder must have possession of the ball prior to blocking the base. This is different from a play on the runner other than a pick off. You can see that at 5:22 of the same video. It has nothing to do with this play but has been brought up in discussion regarding OBS.
Thanks again for the video and I look forward to your feedback regarding how the runner interfered with the play. Have a great season!
Mike