Quote:
Originally Posted by Spence
For the record, I'm not a fan of either team . I just like to understand rules.
Let me play devil's advocate.
Middlebrooks dove toward 2nd base ie in the baseline between 2nd and 3rd. If the runner hadn't run from "inside" 3rd base there would not have been contact. So what was Middlebrooks supposed to do? He was not in the baseline between 3rd and home.
It seems like no matter what he did it was going to be OBS.
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Part of OBR 2.00 (Def) for OBS states "For example: an infielder dives at a ground ball and the ball passes him and he continues to lie on the ground and delays the progress of the runner, he very likely has obstructed the runner."
This key wording here is "continues". That is purely a judgmental call whether the fielder in this case continued to lie on the ground however, he did lie on the ground. And the rule DOES NOT discuss intent.
Your right, just about anything that Middlebrook did to get out of the way when the runner was going over him would not have helped. But, Dems the rules.