Obstruction by F6

[nopachunts]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

Having a brain freeze at the moment... I know I know the answer to this...

FED rules.

R2 only, one out.

Batter hits a ground ball to 3rd. R2 takes off running towards 3rd. F5 fields it cleanly, R2 stops and starts retreating towards 2nd. F6 attempts to get into position (about 20 feet from 2nd, directly in R2's path back to 2nd) to field a throw from F5, forcing R2 to go around F6 (no contact is ever made between the two, but R2 had to run about 5 feet out of his way to avoid F6).

F6 eventually throws to F4 for a tag play at 2nd, but F4 drops the ball and R2 returns safely to 2nd.

Is the obstruction ignored because R2 made it back to 2nd?

If R2 had been tagged out, under FED rules we award R2 3rd (one base beyond position where obstruction occurred), right?

If both of those things are true, doesn't this give an advantage to the defensive team because R2 gets 2nd base if F6 and F4 screw up by obstructing and dropping the ball respectively?

Was F5 moving toward R2 at the time that R2 had to go around F6, a rundown? How did F6 get the ball?

If F5 was running toward R2, a rundown, I would point at the obstruction and say "That's Obstruction". Let the playing action finish and then make awards to nullify the obstruction. If this was a rundown situation, I would award R2 3B.