force slide rule?

[mbyron]

Let's bear in mind two distinct provisions of the rules:

1. FPSR: FED and NCAA have this, it applies to force plays, and it requires runners who choose to slide (not required) to slide directly into and not past the base to which they were forced, and otherwise to refrain from affecting the play at and around the base.

2. Slide or avoid: nearly all non-pro leagues have this rule, which prevents intentionally crashing a catcher who has the ball. The runner must slide, go around, or give himself up if the catcher has the ball.

The FPSR, despite the thread's title, is irrelevant to the OP. The question concerns the slide or avoid rule, and it sounds as if the catcher didn't have the ball when the collision took place or, if he did, that the throw drew him into the path of the runner.

Although I couldn't say for sure without seeing the play, based on the description from the catcher's father (if biased, biased in favor of the umpire's call), the call was likely incorrect. Train wrecks sometimes happen, and not all contact at the plate is illegal.