oversliding second

[akalsey]

Originally posted by mcrowder
How can the fielder be in such a position that a runner sliding through the bag loses contact with the bag, and THEN hits the fielder - and the fielder also be in such a position to force him out at second? It boggles the mind.

Saw a play that illustrates how that could conceivably happen in a highlight reel from yesterday's pro games, but I don't recall the teams.

The situation was a bit different: there were no runners on, so no force at second. But the actions of the fielder would cause exactly what you describe had there been R1.

F6 playing very deep, bouncing ball hit sharply just to the right side of 2B. F6 breaks toward the back of the bag to make the play, but F4 makes a great play and grabs the ball with his momentum carrying him to the bag.

Instead of trying to pivot 180 while going the wrong direction, he flips to F6 who is about 5 feet beyond the bag in a direct line from 1B through 2B.

F6 thows out BR at first. So the play was scored 4-6-3, one out.

Assuming there had been R1, he'd have been retired by F4 as F4 passed the bag. F4 flips to F6, R1 overslides and hits F6 as he makes the throw.

In that case, I'd call BR out on interference. If in my judgement, the runner is sliding at the fielder instead of at the bag, that's interference. If the runner has a reasonable chance of touching the bag, he's sliding at the bag.