Slide/No Slide

[Rich]

Originally Posted by ozzy6900

This assumption is not only wrong (in FED) but will get you into trouble.

1. No runner is ever required to slide (FED, NCAA, OBR)
2. If a runner chooses to slide, he must do so legally. In FED, it must be directly from the runner's position in a straight line to the base. The runner may veer away from the fielder, or run in an opposite direction from the fielder's position. The runner may not over slide the base, pop up (allowed in NCAA), or high cleat as he slides.
3. If a runner chooses not to slide (FED) and interference occurs, the runner is called out (and may be called for Malicious Contact).

So you see, in FED, we must let the play develop before we assume the runner is out. A runner can choose not to slide and run through 2nd base, while the pivot man has already cleared or has no chance of making the play. On the other side of the coin, the slide could be a "take out" requiring a DP call and/or MC.

I think both of you are saying the same things. Liable doesn't mean that we will call interference -- only that we're going to be taking a close look at it and if the runner going in standing up interferes with the pivot, we're going to bang two.

I hear umpires locally say, "You can't take out the fielder" or "You can't break up two." I cringe when I hear that -- of *course* you can take out the pivot man -- if the slide is legal (which means straight to the base and all the other stuff) and the fielder is in the "wrong" spot then contact can be quite severe and still legal.