Fed Obstruction

[JJ]

Originally Posted by gordon30307

I haven't been to a rules interp. yet. But it is said the fielder without the ball must give access to the base. Can the fielder straddle the base, block part of it etc. Made for a lively discussion in our meeting. If this is the case.........lots of ejections this season.

I don't see a problem at all with this. The fielder must allow some direct access to the base if he does NOT have the ball. If I'm the umpire, I will look to see if the runner has to change his direct path to the base because the fielder WITHOUT THE BALL is blocking that part of the base. The NCAA has used this rule for two years with minimal problems. Sometimes we just have to umpire a little...

JJ