WBC -- B/R misses 1B, collision, B/R out

[johnnyg08]

Watching Dominican vs. Netherlands today and the B/R hits a ground ball to F5. The throw pulls F3 off of the bag, but B/R misses 1B and is subquently tagged out as F3 jumps and comes down w/ the ball. The umps got this one right, but I thought about an errant throw that would pull F3 toward home plate impeding the path of the B/R w/o the ball. What is the test for OBS on this type of play. B/R does have a duty to avoid contact right? What if during this type of play F3 has to dive and subquently covers 1B and B/R can't touch 1B?

What do you guys think/know? Thanks!

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

Watching Dominican vs. Netherlands today and the B/R hits a ground ball to F5. The throw pulls F3 off of the bag, but B/R misses 1B and is subquently tagged out as F3 jumps and comes down w/ the ball. The umps got this one right, but I thought about an errant throw that would pull F3 toward home plate impeding the path of the B/R w/o the ball. What is the test for OBS on this type of play. B/R does have a duty to avoid contact right? What if during this type of play F3 has to dive and subquently covers 1B and B/R can't touch 1B?

What do you guys think/know? Thanks!

Under OBR you are not guilty of obstruction if you are in the act of fielding the ball.

[SanDiegoSteve]

And then there's the "interference" call by Eric Cooper, which was really obstruction. You would think there would be a rules clinic for these TV announcers. This guy has been around enough to learn the correct terminology. Now thousands of coaches around the country will scream "that's interference on the first baseman!" and the umpires will just ~sigh~.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

Watching Dominican vs. Netherlands today and the B/R hits a ground ball to F5. The throw pulls F3 off of the bag, but B/R misses 1B and is subquently tagged out as F3 jumps and comes down w/ the ball. The umps got this one right, but I thought about an errant throw that would pull F3 toward home plate impeding the path of the B/R w/o the ball. What is the test for OBS on this type of play. B/R does have a duty to avoid contact right? What if during this type of play F3 has to dive and subquently covers 1B and B/R can't touch 1B?

What do you guys think/know? Thanks!

Under FED it very well could be obstruction if F3's actions prevented (all) access to the base by BR.

[greymule]

In OBR, B/R has no "duty to avoid contact" when the throw draws F3 into his path.

A fielder in possession of the ball can block a runner's access to a base, including 1B. In fact, I don't know that there's anything a fielder in possession of the ball can do to commit OBS. (Maybe deliberately trip the runner?)

As Bob says, maybe Fed is different from OBR in this regard.

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by greymule

In fact, I don't know that there's anything a fielder in possession of the ball can do to commit OBS. (Maybe deliberately trip the runner?)

Despite having possession of the ball, a fielder may still obstruct. It's been done and it's been called.

Batted ball to right side of mound. F1 fields it and falls. With ball in glove, he reaches out and trips runner with bare hand.

MLB ruling: Obstruction.
Evans ruling: Obstruction
PBUC ruling: Obstuction.

[tballump]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

. With ball in glove, he reaches out and trips runner with bare hand.

MLB ruling: Obstruction.
Evans ruling: Obstruction
PBUC ruling: Obstuction.

How about without reaching out (an intentional act), how does he commit OBS. I can visualize your intentional example where he reaches out but not an unintentional example. Thanks for your help.

[greymule]

MrUmpire's example of an intentional trip with the other hand is of course OBS. My statement was poorly worded; that's not maybe, it's definitely OBS.

"How about without reaching out (an intentional act), how does he commit OBS?"

That's what I was thinking of. If the fielder has the ball, I think you'd have to contrive some preposterous scenario where he commits unintentional OBS. I can't think of one offhand.

It's interesting that OBS and INT are the subject of so many posts. Like everybody else, I see these infractions several times a season and try to be on guard for them, but this is such a change from when I played (1960s and early 1970s). Except for a few times when the bat hit the catcher's mitt, I don't remember a single OBS or INT call. (Of course, from high school through Legion, college, semipro, I can't remember a balk call, either.) Maybe my memory is faulty.