[DownTownTonyBrown]

There seems to be a lot of difference between the level of play I have seen, and that being discussed in this forum. I currently work high school Varsity Girls and some junior college. I have worked adult Men's ASA in the past and worked state and regional championship games for this level. At one time I was certified for ASA National tournament level of play - although never worked anything above regional.

I have seen some very athletically talented players catch balls at first base just as being discussed here. For this adult level of play that type of catch is just being relaxed - there was no real potential of a collision and no intent to persuade the runner to slow down; just a very routine out. If the play was going to be close - such that there was a potential for collision, there would be an excellent stretch/stride toward the incoming throw. And this stretch may have come at the very last tenth, or hundredth (?), of a second. The speed and initiation timing of the stretch depends upon the speed of the throw.

Agreeably, I have also seen the witless high school player that would just stand in the way and be completely oblivious to the approaching runner. This person should receive some warning type instruction from the umpire BEFORE someone gets tangled up and hurt in a collision.

My point is, that for this situation and the consideration of an obstruction call, one needs to factor in the abilities of the players. 14 and under... athletic ability and speed of the game would not match up to athletic adults. An obstruction call may very well have been appropriate. I would likely have made some instructional comments to the fielder first and if it didn't register, then penalize their inattentiveness with an obstruction call... and continue making the same call until they figure it out and quit obstructing the runner.