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obstruction
Fed rules.
R2 takes a large secondary lead. F2 attempts to thrown behind him to pick him off. F6 covers 2nd. R2 dives back into 2nd and his access to the base is completely blocked by F6 - about 3 feet short of the bag. F6 does NOT have the ball when R2 dives into his legs. F6 then catches the throw and tags R2. Clearly appears to be obstruction. Is R2 awarded 3rd? i know Fed used to be a minimum one base award on obstruction - is this still true? BRD 2009 #34 indicates that the obstruction is ignored if the runner was not attempting to advance. thanks, |
1 base minimum award in FED.
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newump,
Yes, under FED rules an obstructed runner is awarded a minimum of "one base beyond" his position at the time he is obstructed. In your sitch, the R2 would be awarded 3B, despite the fact that he was obstructed while returning to 2B. JM |
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thanks. i awarded the runner 3rd in my situation, but started to 2nd guess myself after reading BRD
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it is type b obstruction that is ignored (in OBR) if he isn't trying to advance. this situation is type a obstruction and would result in the award of at least one base in all codes.
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Yep, otherwise teams would be doing this all the time knowing there would not be a penalty. JJ |
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When a runner is obstructed (2-22) while advancing or returning to a base, the umpire shall award the obstructed runner and each other runner affected by the obstruction the bases they would have reached, in his opinion, had there been no obstruction. If the runner achieves the base he was attempting to acquire, then the obstruction is ignored. In the OP, R2 is attempting to return to 2nd (not going to 3rd) and is put out due to an OB. Since he's not attempting to run to 3rd, he would be awarded 2nd since that's the base he's attempting to reach/return to. Thus the defense is penalized by not getting the out. |
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That is just flat out wrong. In the OP, the obstructed R2 is properly awarded 3B. I "get around" the part of the rule you underlined by reading the entire rule. Especially the part that says: Quote:
The rule is certainly poorly worded, but in FED an obstructed runner is always awarded "one base beyond". JM |
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The obstructed runner is awarded a minimum of one base beyond his position on base when the obstruction occurred. |
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8.3.2a - obstruction happens during rundown. Play is being made on an advancing runner. I would give the base award. But the following case play is more inline with the OP *8.3.2 SITUATION G: F1 attempts to pick off R1 at first base. As F3 is about to receive the throw, he drops his knee and (a) blocks the entire base prior to possessing the ball or (b) blocks part of the base prior to possessing the ball or (c) blocks the entire base while being in possession of the ball. RULING: Obstruction in (a); legal in (b) and (c). Though the ruling is obstruction, there is no ruling on an awarded base in the case play. I would interpret that in (a) the runner is returning to 1st and is awarded that base as per rule 8-3-2: In this OP, the runner would have returned to 2nd (he's not advancing to 3rd) had there been no obstruction. Granted the wording in this particluar rule seems to contradict itself. But I see the later wording in this same ruling stating "Runner(s) will be awarded appropriate base(s) per umpire judgement." In this OP, in my judgement, he's not going to 3rd. He's returning to 2nd. Due to the obstruction, the defense looses the out and R2 gets 2nd. |
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i keep forgetting the difference between "-" and "."...
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I'll post it again for you: Quote:
The fact is, if you have a runner returning to a base (R1 on a pickoff obstructed by F3, for example) this obstructed runner gets 2B in every rule code. If you choose not to enforce the rules on this point, that's entirely up to you. Please be aware that you have no rules support for your position. |
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You're not the first to note (or be caught by) that seeming discrepancy. It gets talked about on the boards a couple of times a year. FED made some change to this rule a couple of years ago, and the wording they added made it confusing. They mean that if the runner acquires the base to which he was ADVANCING, and that's as far as he would go, that the obstrcution would be ignored. If he's obstructed while returning, then he gets the minimum one base award. |
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