Your call??

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Matt

None of it can be applied (as of now,) and here's why--

The rule was written with the very specific intent of protecting fielders with the ball. The verbage hasn't changed since the adjustments to other related rules. So, the question is if the rule should still be enforced with its original intent, or not? Unless Jim Paranto comes out and says that the clause should have been rewritten, it still refers only to fielders with possession.

I think it's a ridiculous notion that a fielder who has possession of the ball is less prepared for a runner who aims to collide with him than a fielder who just mishandled a batted ball as in this play, or a fielder who is waiting for or in the act of catching a thrown ball. When that fielder is focused on the ball instead of the runner, he's not going to be able to brace himself for impact. In this day and age where concerns for concussions in sports has gone viral, I find it hard to believe the rule is intentionally so narrow focused.

Surely someone of authority has viewed this video to determine who needs to be suspended, and determined that an Approved Ruling needs to be announced now to address this huge chasm in the collision rule.

[MD Longhorn]

Manny - if they don't have the ball, they're not supposed to be in the way in the first place. The rule was written to stop the practice of players trying to crash through fielders that had the ball, trying to dislodge the ball. It was not written to protect fielders who are obstructing.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Manny - if they don't have the ball, they're not supposed to be in the way in the first place. The rule was written to stop the practice of players trying to crash through fielders that had the ball, trying to dislodge the ball. It was not written to protect fielders who are obstructing.

Perhaps. But the obstruction rule shouldn't give a runner carte blanche to assail a fielder either. Competent umpires can see an obstruction infraction without the collision.