The Official Forum - Out or not?

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Quote:

Originally posted by SamNVa

Quote:

Originally posted by Dakota
There is no obstruction here. Why? The fielder was in the act of fielding a batted ball.

Tom,

I have to disagree with your last statement. I think that if the ball gets far enough away from the fielder, they are no longer fielding a batted ball, instead they are chasing after a ball, and can be guilty of obstruction if they get tangled up with a runner.

SamC

That is part of the problem. We do not know where the ball was when this occured. If this was just a reach or so and the defender could have easily gained possession of the ball, I would think of this as INT. If the ball literally bounced away from the fielder, it could be obstruction.

This is a play I believe most of us would know what it is when we see it.

Quote:

Actually, I agree with you Sam. My sentence was in the context of the presented situation, which said,

Quote:

as the 3rd baseman turns to go get the ball they collide

I'm visualizing this as within "step and reach."

To clarify the ball was not within a step and reach of the 3rd baseman. After the deflection it was actually closer to SS. F6 was playing a good ways off the line.

Thanks for all the responses.