Obstruction at first base

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Originally Posted by todd.dicken

I am very new at umpiring, I have about 20 games under my belt (Mainly 8U AA). Recently I had a very interesting game. A lot of coaches yelling at me for various reasons. Most were judgement calls safe/out. No big deal, I have found out quickly that someone is always going to be upset about your calls.

What really got me was a call I made at first. The batter hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop and as he threw to first, the first baseman had to move back standing on first base as the throw was a little high and towards home. He made the catch and tagged the runner. The coach proceeded to yell obstruction since the runner didn't have a clear path to step on that bag, and that the first baseman cannot stand on the bag. If I am correct, the first baseman has all the right to make the catch. Just wanted any clarification I can get in order to make calls as best I can. Thank you for any input you may have.

Back when I umpired youth baseball, I found that coaches at that age were the absolute worst. If I could go back in time, I would have an extremely short leash. There is no reason to yell about an 8 year-old baseball game in any situation.

If the coach has a legitimate question about a ruling - as in the case of the potential obstruction at first base - he can request time and come have a civil conversation with you. Yelling about that - or any "close play" - gets a pretty simple treatment: Ignore the first time; warn the second; eject the third.

From your description, good ruling. The first baseman is allowed to make the catch.