Obstruction at first base

[ozzy6900]

Originally Posted by todd.dicken

The game is played under OBR. In my observation of the play, the fielder was moving to catch the ball. Therefore I called the kid out, simple as that. Is their a more defined rule whether it has to be fielded from the bat vs caught from another player? I appreciate the advice Bob! Like I said, I'm new to this and I am only looking to further my knowledge of the rules.

Here is another one for you...Same game, so the coach is already fired up from the previous dispute. Im at position "A" and the batter hits a ROUTINE fly ball to center. I proceed to run into the infield and turn to watch the runner touch first. The next thing I hear is no catch from the other umpire. Apparently the kid in center momentarily had the ball in his glove, but never maintained possession. The coach then calls time and runs out yelling at me saying "You gotta make that call Blue!" and "that was your call to make!" I cant say the my training was sufficient, but I feel I made the correct decision by running in and leaving the catch/no catch up to my partner. I find that right now my biggest problem is deciding how to deal with coaches. I wanted really bad to tell him off, but feel I may have been too passive. Once again, thanks for any input.

Here's a rule of thumb that I used to use

• Players get and answer to their question but are not allowed to dispute calls
• Assistant managers get no leeway at all. They are there to tell the players what to do, not interface with the umpires.
• Managers get to talk, discuss (not yell) and argue to a point. They are the only ones who speak for the team and it is up to you and your partner to know who the manager is.

A manager who comes out yelling gets no response at all from me. When he takes a breath, I'll thank him for his observation and move into my position on the outfield grass behind 2nd base or behind the plate if that is not where I have to be). If he follows me, he's gone. It's that simple.

Don't let allow coaches to yell at you or tell you your job. Do not get into a pi$$ing contest with them and resist the temptation to argue back. All you need to do is stay calm and let the coach either talk himself out or say good by to him. Also, once a coach says the word "you", the next words better be "are great", "are a star" or something like that because if the next words are derogatory, he has made the argument personal and needs to be ejected immediately.