Strange obstruction play

[jchamp]

I've done about a season and a half of softball before this baseball play a couple weeks ago, in my first baseball game. It's JV, Fed rules.
R2 & R3, 1 out, batter shows bunt, F3 & F5 charge. Ball trickles down first base line. F3 fields it after BR passes him and with no play at home, he turns to throw to F4 who is late covering first base. His throw goes into foul territory, and F4 jumps across BR's path trying to make the catch, making a play on BR that would make Ray Lewis smile, knocking him down into the coach's box. F9 grabs the ball and tags him on the leg before BR could scramble to the bag.
My call: Obstruction on F4--while accidental, he was out of his place, blocked the runner from reaching the bag, would never have gotten the ball before he could make a tag, anyways, and was five feet off the bag towards home when the collision occurred.
Def. coach argues that it's a "no call" and that I need to let the play work itself out to see what happens.
What I think I screwed up was, since I made the Obstruction call, I'm not sure if R2 who had made it to third base should have gone back instead of making it home after the fact. But I'm pretty sure the obstruction was the right call. I wasn't able to get a good reading from talking to subsequent partners, except that one said if I was certain my call encouraged player safety, it's what I should call.

[nopachunts]

I would have obstruction on the described play. I would leave R2 as scoring.

[yawetag]

OBS in Fed is ALWAYS delayed dead ball, so any action after the OBS is allowed. If R2 scores, it counts. The only thing OBS does is protect a runner to the base the umpire felt he would have obtained absent the OBS, with a minimum of one-base beyond the last-acquired base.

In this situation, it sounds like BR was OBS by F4 before he was able to reach 1B. Therefore, he can be protected farther than 1B, but you have to give him at least 1B. Since F9 was able to field the ball and tag BR before he touched 1B, I'm going to assume the BR would have never made it to 2B in a non-OBS situation. If so, award BR 1B and let the run score (or whatever else R2 did).

[jchamp]

Thanks for the explanation regarding that. I want to keep this in the experience file, since I doubt it will be the last time I see something like it.
Do you have any clue where the idea that "it's a no-call" could come from? It sounds like either an obsolete rule or a TV announcer rule. Or maybe he was just trying to make a fielder (who made a good effort) not feel quite so bad about the call going against him. In either case, if he wasn't irate, he played the part well.

[yawetag]

Originally Posted by jchamp

Do you have any clue where the idea that "it's a no-call" could come from?

There are "train wrecks" that occur -- where both the runner and the fielder are doing exactly what they're supposed to do -- and it's possible the OP was one. Without being there, I can't determine if F4 did OBS BR from 1B.

[rbmartin]

If F4 was in the act of fielding a throw, even an errant throw, no obstruction, just a train wreck. If, however, he was chasing down an errant throw which he has just missed when a collision occured, then he is guilty of obstruction. Judgement call, HTBT.

[UmpJM]

rbmartin,

The OP specified FED rules where being in the "act of fielding" does not absolve a fielder of his liability for obstruction as it does in OBR.

As described, under FED rules it's obstruction.

JM

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by UmpJM (nee CoachJM)

rbmartin,

The OP specified FED rules where being in the "act of fielding" does not absolve a fielder of his liability for obstruction as it does in OBR.

As described, under FED rules it's obstruction.

JM

+1

The key phrase from the OP was that F4 "blocked the runner from reaching the bag." That can't be a train wreck in FED, but must be OBS.

[rbmartin]

Originally Posted by UmpJM (nee CoachJM)

rbmartin,

The OP specified FED rules where being in the "act of fielding" does not absolve a fielder of his liability for obstruction as it does in OBR.

As described, under FED rules it's obstruction.

JM

Thanks for the correction. One of these days I'll have to break down and study the FED book in addition to OBR

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by jchamp

His throw goes into foul territory, and F4 jumps across BR's path trying to make the catch, making a play on BR that would make Ray Lewis smile, knocking him down into the coach's box.

This reads a lot like 8.3.2K -- OBS

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by rbmartin

If F4 was in the act of fielding a throw, even an errant throw, no obstruction, just a train wreck. If, however, he was chasing down an errant throw which he has just missed when a collision occured, then he is guilty of obstruction. Judgement call, HTBT.

This response makes me sad. We're losing the battle of educating our own umpires about OBS - how the heck do we expect coaches to ever learn it?

[TwoBits]

But it does depend of the rule set, doesn't it? In FED, I have textbook obstruction. In OBR, I have (the non-textbook definition of) a train-wreck.

[UmpJM]

mbc,

Maybe RBM doesn't "do" FED games and has no particular reason to learn the FED rules.

JM

[rbmartin]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

This response makes me sad. We're losing the battle of educating our own umpires about OBS - how the heck do we expect coaches to ever learn it?

As UmpJM surmised, I don't do Fed games. If you feel my response is incorrect under OBR, please educate me.

[MD Longhorn]

I apologize if that rubbed you the wrong way. Reading it now I can see how it might have seemed like a personal slam. You did, however, make your post as if it was the correct answer to the question without any mention that you don't do Fed but here's the OBR answer.

OBS can be a touchy subject with me as I work with umpires who just won't call it - and when I do coaches think I'm speaking chinese, even though their F3 is standing on the freaking bag 12 times a game as runners try to run around them.