What's the penalty for.....

[PAT THE REF]

Hey Everyone,

Had a youth 13-14 game tonight in NJ... Thought I would place my 2 cents in.

Tonight I had obstr. on a rundown between 3rd and home. The 3rd baseman got in the way of the runner by blocking his base path and was not apart of the play. The runner had to run on the grass to avoid him while the throw was going over both their heads to 3rd base where the S.s. was playing. (play FED rules)... Tagged out due to the obstr. So, called time and I awarded him home. You guessed it, the coach went nuts... I had to run the assistant coach because he ran onto the field and started going while and the coach understood after he calmed down what the rule is.

Obstruction/Interference is one of the harder things to call as an umpire. Some are black & white, while others regard running and advantage/disadvantage (can you tell I ref basketball too?)

I would warn the player/team and tell/explain to the coach (this is youth ball) what happened and why. He should have words with his team... Any repeat offense should be considered unsportsmanlike since they all should be told that, that is not allowed.... Maybe not ejection immediately, but def. enforce the obstr.

Again, Just my 2 Cents.

Pat