Fake Tag or Spastic?

[TussAgee11]

R1, outs dont matter. Groundball to 2nd baseman who comes in front of the oncoming runner. The ball goes through the wickets, then the player reaches back and tries to tag the runner. I was PU, BU didn't call anything. I thought it could either be a fake tag or obstruction (the glove hit the runner and possibly impeded him). Obviously obs would have only awarded R1 2nd, but fake tag would have had worse consequences. It appeared as though F4 tried to do everything to fast, and probably was aware the ball wasn't in his glove, but his motion towards the runner had already started.

So, fake tag, or spaz F4?

[SanDiegoSteve]

If in your judgment F4 realized he did not have the ball, you might have a case for obstruction if the runner was impeded.

I would not rule fake tag in this case. A fake tag is usually reserved for trying to get a runner to slide from believing the fielder has the ball. I doubt if R1 missed the ball rolling through F4's legs, so he's not being tricked by the tag, which is the reason for the FED fake tag rule.

This was more instantaneous, and without clearly judging intent on the part of F4, I would lean more toward "I've got nothing."

[greymule]

This question reminds me of a SP game years ago in which I ruled that the shortstop had intentionally dropped a liner with runners on 1B and 2B and no out. His team argued, in all seriousness, "But Blue, he's not good enough to drop a ball intentionally. He's a terrible fielder. He just dropped it!"

Actually, they might well have been right, but I stuck with the call.

[TwoBits]

Regarding whether it was a fake tag or not, I would have to be there to judge that.

I'm assuming this is a FED game since you are talking about a fake tag. In that case, faking a tag IS obstruction, and a minimum one base award is required. The runner would probably only be protected to second since this occured on a ground ball between first and second. Furthermore, the defensive team shall receive a warning with the next offending player on that team being restricted to the bench.

[GarthB]

I agree with Steve; I would not call a fake tag. The intent of that rule is to prevent unnecessary slides to a base and decrease the risk of injury. I would assume the fielder thought he had the ball.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by GarthB

I agree with Steve; I would not call a fake tag.

I thought I felt the earth shifting off its axis this morning!