LL Junior BB, 90 ft bases.

Ball hit to infield, F5 fields the ball cleanly. BR running to 1st, in the lane. Throw to first pulls F3 to the home side of 1st, into the path of the runner. BR and F3 collide, ball is overthrown, but stays live. Opportunity for BR to advance to 2nd negated by collision.

Because of the new rule in LL this year on obstruction (fielder must have possession of a thrown ball to be in base path), I called obstruction and gave BR 2nd. However, after the game, my partner at the plate said that he felt that it should have just been a collision, and nothing. Last year, I would have agreed.

What say ye?

It's nothing.

Caveat: I don't do LL baseball. But, the new obstruction rule is, as I understand it, close to the NCAA rule. I wouldn't have obstruction there -- the throw took the fielder into the runner; the rule is designed to prevent the fielder from blocking the runner. There's a difference.

Baseball is not a "non-contact" sport. Sometime there is "incidental Contact", as I see it in your case. Hey, sh*t happens.

In basketball, two guys are goin for a loose ball trying to make a play, one of them gets knocked into the stands, you gonna call a foul?

I am doing Lil' League, and the reason I think rule was changed, is because kids at this level like standing in front of the bag while runners are advancing. I witnessed this alot the first day of the season on Saturday, which I let Coaches know to work on that with their players. I had several "delayed dead ball" signals thrown up that day.

JMO