OBS question

[bigwes68]

I know the answer to this is probably very simple, I'm just missing it somewhere. But I read rulebooks for an hour last night and just couldn't sort it out.

Play: OBR, runners don't matter, outs don't matter. BR hits a single and makes a wide turn around 1B. He collides with F3 and both go to the ground in a heap. BR returns to 1B after the play. Off. coach is screaming for "interference" (the coach's word for OBS). I had signaled OBS, but I placed the runner back on 1B, reasoning that there was no way he would have made it to 2B because the ball was almost back the infield at the time of the collision.

It seems that OBR 7.06 contradicts itself. It says "...all runners shall advance to the base, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire's judgment, if the obstruction had not occurred."

In my judgment, the BR would NOT have reached second base, regardless of the OBS. But the very next sentence: "The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction."

So even if, in my judgment, the runner had NO CHANCE of making it to 2B safely regardless of the OBS, I should award him 2B because he was obstructed? And if this is the case, what's to stop a runner, on a routine single, from intentionally running into F3 (and making it look like it was F3's fault) any time he is remotely close to the base so he will be awarded 2B?

This just had me confused, your input please. Thanks.

[bob jenkins]

Originally posted by bigwes68
I know the answer to this is probably very simple, I'm just missing it somewhere. But I read rulebooks for an hour last night and just couldn't sort it out.

Play: OBR, runners don't matter, outs don't matter. BR hits a single and makes a wide turn around 1B. He collides with F3 and both go to the ground in a heap. BR returns to 1B after the play. Off. coach is screaming for "interference" (the coach's word for OBS). I had signaled OBS, but I placed the runner back on 1B, reasoning that there was no way he would have made it to 2B because the ball was almost back the infield at the time of the collision.

It seems that OBR 7.06 contradicts itself. It says "...all runners shall advance to the base, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire's judgment, if the obstruction had not occurred."

In my judgment, the BR would NOT have reached second base, regardless of the OBS. But the very next sentence: "The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction."

So even if, in my judgment, the runner had NO CHANCE of making it to 2B safely regardless of the OBS, I should award him 2B because he was obstructed? And if this is the case, what's to stop a runner, on a routine single, from intentionally running into F3 (and making it look like it was F3's fault) any time he is remotely close to the base so he will be awarded 2B?

This just had me confused, your input please. Thanks.

7.06(a) deals with obstruction when a play is being made on a runner. Here, award at least one base.

7.06(b) deals with obstruction when no play is being made on the runner. Here, there is no minimum award.

Your play was likely "type b" obstruction.

[LDUB]

You are quoting type A obstruction rules on a type B play. Read 7.06 b.

You did the right thing in not sending the runner to second. Under some rule codes, obstruction carries a minimum one base award, therefore the BR would be awarded second.

[mrm21711]

Originally posted by bigwes68
I know the answer to this is probably very simple, I'm just missing it somewhere. But I read rulebooks for an hour last night and just couldn't sort it out.

Play: OBR, runners don't matter, outs don't matter. BR hits a single and makes a wide turn around 1B. He collides with F3 and both go to the ground in a heap. BR returns to 1B after the play. Off. coach is screaming for "interference" (the coach's word for OBS). I had signaled OBS, but I placed the runner back on 1B, reasoning that there was no way he would have made it to 2B because the ball was almost back the infield at the time of the collision.

It seems that OBR 7.06 contradicts itself. It says "...all runners shall advance to the base, without liability to be put out, to the bases they would have reached, in the umpire's judgment, if the obstruction had not occurred."

In my judgment, the BR would NOT have reached second base, regardless of the OBS. But the very next sentence: "The obstructed runner shall be awarded at least one base beyond the base he had last legally touched before the obstruction."

So even if, in my judgment, the runner had NO CHANCE of making it to 2B safely regardless of the OBS, I should award him 2B because he was obstructed? And if this is the case, what's to stop a runner, on a routine single, from intentionally running into F3 (and making it look like it was F3's fault) any time he is remotely close to the base so he will be awarded 2B?

This just had me confused, your input please. Thanks.

Discern the language differences between 7.06 a & b.

Type A obstruction is when a play is being made on an obstructed runner. That rule states the obstructed runner shall be awarded a minimum of one base beyond the base last occupied at time of the obstruction. This makes sense with a runner being played on.

Then, look at 7.06 (b). It states that if no play is being made on an obstructed runner (your instance), the umpire shall let the play complete and impose such penalties, if any, that will in his judgement nullify the act of obstruction. So in a type b situation, there is no problem ignoring the situation you presented.

Also, the PBUC Umpire Manual has a great section on obstruction and interference.

[bigwes68]

Thanks for clearing it up, guys. I had noticed people talking about Type A and Type B OBS on here before, but didn't really know what they meant. I was afraid I was confusing softball rules with baseball rules there for a while.

I think I've got it straight now.