Quote:
Originally posted by Andy
I'm going to add a little more to this.
First of all, it seems to me that 10 -15 ft past first base on the foul line is plenty of room for the batter-runner to realize that the ball has been overthrown and start for second before getting to the place where s/he needs to try to avoid F9.
In the play presented, I think that I would need to see some indication that the runner intends to try for second base before I would call obstruction.
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Let's qualify this first as ASA.
This is where I disagree with some other members of this board. Obstruction is a DDB call to allow things to develop. There is no provision in the rule which indicates the umpire should determine possibilities prior to making the call. In the play, the ball is live, the runner can advance if they chose to do so and it does not have to be an immediate determination if (in FP) the ball is not yet back in the circle.
Live ball, runner impeded, obstruction.
The reason I raised this scenario as a result of talking to a few JO coaches. I have been told that this move by the RF is being coached for the purpose of disrupting the runner's ability to advance. If I see this occur more than once, I'm going to have a nice talk with the coach. I am going to tell him/her that I consider this unsportsmanlike conduct and if it happens again, the offending player will be ejected. There is absolutely no reason to coach a player to place him/her in harms way.
It doesn't make a difference if it is intentional or not, it is the defender's responsibility to avoid the runner and stay out of their path, not the other way around.