Place the Runners

[Simply The Best]

Originally Posted by MikeStrybel

At the Chicago NCAA meetings they showed a couple MLB plays for obstruction. In both, the umpires were emphatic and immediate in their awards. Even in the bigs, players don't always know where to go on such calls. Tom also showed two NCAA plays involving obstruction - both types. One involved a runner believing that he was protected when in fact he wasn't. Hiler reiterated the need for umpires to be assertive on this call and reminded us that collegiate athletes (in this case D-1) typically aren't aware of the award.

This is one of those rules that very, very few players and coaches grasp. The good is if you can recite the rule verbatim and make it assertively, they are typically sold for no other reason than they haven't a clue how to argue it. Those that think they know will pull out some mythological phrase and try to apply it, again, rule knowledge and assertiveness win the day. I can think of only one EJ where this rule was the cause. Adult ex NCAA Div I coach, ex professionals and collegiate wood bat league. Rule applied, discussion with coach, ensuing discussion (short - he was clueless), more discussion by coach, EJ. Game clock was running, players want to play.