Seattle vs Tampa Bay - 08-06-04 - Obstruction?

[Atl Blue]

Sal:


From the MLB Umpire's Manual:

(11) Runner on third base, one out. Batter hits a fly ball to right-center field, and the runner goes back to third base to tag up. Third baseman approaches the runner, faces him, and jockeys back and forth, intentionally trying to block the runner's view of the fielder catching the ball.
Ruling: This is obstruction under Official Baseball Rule 7.06(b). The umpire should call the infraction when it occurs and award bases, if any, in the appropriate manner.

Sounds almost exactly like the play in question. The MLBUM tells Emmel what type of OBS this is. It's B.

So, either poor judgment (saying the runner would have scored, the appropriate penalty under B) or a poor misapplication of the manual used by the MLB umps.

Either way, he blew the call.