Right you are. Not sure what I was envisioning... :mad:

Coach, so you're telling me there are situations where there is physical contact on a runner by a fielder(without ball and no impending throw) during a rundown yet no obstruction should be called?

As stated earlier, I was always taught that for type A obstruction, the easiest call in the world is if there is physical contact on the runner by a fielder. No ifs, ands or buts that was obstruction and award the next base. Was told that this is just a easy a call as a grounder that hits third or first base(fair ball).

Exactly what coach was describing. The bottom line to me is that obstruction is a judgement call by the umpire - did he hinder the runner from advancing etc.,

Just a little contact is not going to get OBS call automatically. In your rundown just by contacting the player with his glove does not make it obstruction.

But it all depends on how much contact - a player could knock a runner down with such a tag or force him to take a couple of steps outside of his intended path etc., - that could be OBS.

Thanks
David

I think that 99% of the time, contact during a rundown will be obstruction. A fake tag (or more accurately, a tag without the ball) on a runner already diving back into the base might be the exception that proves the rule.