What do we have?
 

ASA
B level varsity.
Batter hits shot into center and is going for second.
F6 is straddling the bag and when she is about to catch the throw from the centerfielder the BR goes into the base standing up and they collide, which causes the throw to go wide and allows the BR to advance to 3B.
Coach wants me (PU) to call interference but my partner says nothing so I do not not get involved.
Was there any violation here or just a train wreck?














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You have obstruction on F6.

A) You should not be having a conversation with coach at this play at all.
B) Neither of you should have interference.
C) BU should have signaled and called obstruction.

PS - what is this "ASA" of which you speak? :)

The poster asked the same question on a FP board, got the same answer.

Ditto. No ball possession, blocking the runners path and impeding her.

Yes, just wanted to be sure.
My gut instinct was to call it interference but between a careful search through the USA book and the two forums I am convinced it is obstruction.
Too bad the kids are not taught how to slide.
In the same game I was hit square in the chest with a thrown bat.
Any rule violation on that?

From your other post it seems like you come from the baseball world... this play would have been obstruction in most of the baseball codes as well.

Why should this player slide though... this player, by all rights, could have rounded the bag and continued to third. There was no tag to avoid ... why slide?

Thrown bat --- many local leagues have rules about that. Most main rulesets do not.

Yes, which is why my partner-- who did not call anything--let me have it after the game.
And rightfully so.
Then again, had he signaled obstruction it would have made it clear to me that he did, in fact, see something.
As they say, live and learn.
As to ASA -- the last time our association issued us a rule book was 2015.
I just joined a new umpire organization that covers travel ball and see that the new book is now titled USA.
Yes MD Longhorn, I do mainly baseball and in baseball (with the sole exception of Federation Ball ) the fielder can be in the process of fielding a thrown ball and not be guilty of obstruction.
What mainly confused me was the crash rule but after consulting the rule book I see that only applies if the fielder has the ball and is ready to make a tag.
Again thanks to all for the excellent feedback.
PS.-- I work for NYC PSAL and we have a ruling about thrown bats but I will have to call our assignor because I forgot.
I will also see if we have a local rule about crashing into a fielder if contact can be avoided.

Don't take any offense to the ASA/USA part... it's been ASA for a very long time, and just changed this year. Even the veterans of the board say it wrong every once in a while - and they will be ribbed a little for it as well. No hard feelings. :)

It would take a lot more than that to ruffle my feathers:)
But it was an interesting game.
I also told the away coach that his pitcher could not warm up in the circle before game time ( wrong) and also informed him that his pitcher -- who had an annoying pre pitch ritual-- had 12 second to throw the pitch.
( Another bad habit from baseball. Turns out it is 20 seconds in AS-- I mean USA-- softball)
Gotta keep reading that new rule book.

When you post, you have been clear about non-NFHS rules in NY, so please keep saying so. Most of us won't remember. :rolleyes:

True.
For some reason NYS follows NFHS rules but NYC sticks with USA.
Then again after this season I will be giving up HS umpiring since it is becoming more akin to babysitting and law enforcement ( more than once have my partners and I had to start a game by rousting drunks out of the dugout-- many of our games are played in public parks-- than officiating.

But BU did not in fact call obstruction. So should PU have called it? Even if it's right in front of his partner?

We don't know if the BU is there, description of the play doesnt say if BU chased or came inside.

If the former, then the PU better make the OBS call.

Either umpire CAN call obstuction, when they see it. That said, if my partner is right there on the play and makes no call, I'm not calling it - he has distance and angle and if he's not calling it I'm assuming he is seeing something that I could not see.

If I notice that partner is, for whatever reason, looking away from this fielder when it happens, I'm calling it.