Catchers obstruction?????

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

Problem is that there are a couple of folks on another board that insist it absolutely cannot be CI/CO unless the batter swings - no matter what the catcher does.

Having people here say they wouldn't call it without a swing doesn't help in the long run.

It's not black or white, Rich, as I'm sure you know. If the batter makes no attempt to offer at the pitch, and the umpire can judge that the catcher's position had nothing to do with why the batter didn't offer because the batter couldn't possibly see him (which sounds like what happened here), then there really is no CI/CO. But if the umpire judges that the reason the batter didn't offer was because the batter saw where the catcher was located (such as right on top or in front of home plate), then CI/CO could be ruled.

Even then, I've seen batters completely bail out of the box before the pitch arrives, such as on a steal of home. If the catcher moves up to catch the pitch, I couldn't justify a CI/CO call then, since it was clear the batter had no intent to contact the pitch.