Play at the plate

[Jim Krueger]

Not if he was going to slide anyway which I believe he was and no one ever tried to say he only slid to avoid the catcher.

[Rich Ives]

Are you trying to rationalize your call? Sounds like it.

[thumpferee]

IMO based on the OP, you got it right! Every "banger" is a millisecond away from being either safe/out.

You can obstruct a base, or plate, as long as you want, as long as there is no "imminent" play being made.

If a runner is doing what he needs to do (get to the base) and the fielder is doing what he needs to do (catch the ball), it all comes down in the wash.

In other words, it's our judgement! As officials, we need to read the play, be in the best possible position to make the call based on what we see and in accordance with the rules. It's not easy! That's why we are who we are!

We get it right 99% of the time, and then there's that 1%.

Unlike coaches who are correct 100% of the time.

PS:POE for FED this year is the legality and location of sliding at HP. A runner need not slow down on a play at the plate because it creates an advantage for the defense.

I'm just curious but, I've been doing HS ball for over 12yrs and I don't get these situations! Am I just lucky or what? I WANT ONE!

Had a couple FPSRs, one RLI, one, or two BI.

Not one squeeze play. Still waiting and looking forward to that!

[Jim Krueger]

I have been umpiring High School for 16 years and I have not had many issues either. I guess that is why these situations drive me nuts when they occur. I'm not trying to justify an improper call. I know I got it right. Like Rich said,"was the runner hindered" is the key to this play not where the catcher was positioned while waiting for the ball. The runner didn't change anything (in my opinion) because of where the catcher was positioned before he had the ball. The ball simply beat the runner by a fraction of a second. It is a judgment call that was going to have one coach or the other pissed off, but I would have had a tough sell trying to tell the defensive coach the runner is not out simply because his catcher stood in the wrong spot before he caught the ball and tagged out the runner. Again, thank you for your replies.