What's the call?

[BoomerSooner]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I agree; you have been calling it wrong all these years. What you have described is definitionally obstruction if the fielder is impeding the runner's return to the base. Having a material effect on any possible play is also not part of the obstruction rule.

For clarification, I was referring to F4 or F6 covering 2nd base. The batter runner rounds 1st and sees a fielder covering 2nd base so she retreats to first. If the fielder at 2nd base was in the way of the batter runner, regardless of the fact that the batter-runner is 55-60' away from 2nd base I should be calling obstruction because if that fielder hadn't been in the way, the batter runner might have continued running to 2nd base???

The most recent points from Cecil and Steve have finally got on the point I'm trying to make. The runner's act of altering her path just because of her perception that a fielder might impede her doesn't trump my judgement as to whether she would have been impeded had she continued on her path without alteration in direction or speed. I wouldn't call obstruction if a runner altered her path in order to make contact with a fielder so I'm also not going to call it if the runner alters her path to avoid a fielder that wouldn't have impeded her progress anyway. Again, my point is that merely being in the runners path to the next base followed by the runner changing her path or speed isn't sufficient to make the call. The runner had to have actually been impeded in my judgement.

Another example, the catcher sets up in front of home to receive a throw from the outfield on a play at the plate. She's in the path of the runner who is 45' from home. The throw comes in and is cut off by another fielder at which point the runner slams on the breaks. The catcher as I described it the situation was in the runner's path l, and the runner subsequently altered her path? Is this obstruction? No because the runner wasn't impeded by the catcher. Same situation but now the runner is less than 10' from home. No throw is coming home, the catcher doesn't move and the runner has to slow up or widen her path to avoid contact. The fielder that cutoff the original throw sees this and tries to make a play on the runner. In that case, I'm calling obstruction because the defense actually impeded the runner in my judgement.