The Official Forum  

Go Back   The Official Forum > Softball
Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old Thu Jun 24, 2004, 03:55pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 476
Send a message via ICQ to SamNVa Send a message via AIM to SamNVa Send a message via Yahoo to SamNVa
Does possession require control?

Batter hitd a ball to the outfield, runner is trying to score from 2nd, Catcher is set up in front of the plate waiting for the throw. Throw skips as it comes in causing F2 to mishandle it and the ball ends up trapped against her side in the crook of her elbow. Catcher knwos the runner is approaching, so she plops down in front of the plate; runner slides in and is stopped short of the plate, the catcher finally manages to get rhe ball in her hand and tags the runner. Now, speaking ASa what's the call, obstruction or out?

SamC
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old Thu Jun 24, 2004, 04:52pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: woodville, tx
Posts: 3,156
Quote:
Originally posted by SamNVa
Does possession require control?

Batter hitd a ball to the outfield, runner is trying to score from 2nd, Catcher is set up in front of the plate waiting for the throw. Throw skips as it comes in causing F2 to mishandle it and the ball ends up trapped against her side in the crook of her elbow. Catcher knwos the runner is approaching, so she plops down in front of the plate; runner slides in and is stopped short of the plate, the catcher finally manages to get rhe ball in her hand and tags the runner. Now, speaking ASa what's the call, obstruction or out?

SamC
I know what I would call. OBS...Catcher does not have the
ball, plops down in front of the plate, impeding progress.
Catcher had no control, fumbling around for ball, but has
the presents to flop on plate. OBS
__________________
glen _______________________________
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
--Mark Twain.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old Thu Jun 24, 2004, 07:29pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: In the Desert....
Posts: 826
Definitely Obstruction
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old Thu Jun 24, 2004, 08:25pm
Never Stop Learning
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 518
The obstruction rule states a fielder not in possession of the ball or not in the act of fielding a batted ball. This has to be obstruction.
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jun 25, 2004, 03:26am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: north central Pa
Posts: 2,360
I agree - I see your play as obstruction, Sam.
__________________
Steve M
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jun 25, 2004, 08:58am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Twin Cities MN
Posts: 8,154
Yup, OBS.

Last year... OUT.
__________________
Tom
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jun 25, 2004, 11:34am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 10
Obstruction. And it may have been obstruction even if the catcher had caught the ball, if the umpire judges the runner to have been impeded (hesitated or slowed down) by reason of the catcher being in front of the plate. A fully armored catcher will, in most cases, intimidate a runner in that situation and, therefore, the benefit of the doubt (assuming there is any) has to go to the runner. What's a catcher to do, then? Catch then block. Say it with me, catch then block.
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jun 25, 2004, 02:03pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Posts: 476
Send a message via ICQ to SamNVa Send a message via AIM to SamNVa Send a message via Yahoo to SamNVa
So the fact that the catcher had "possession" of the ball has no bearing on the obstruction call, since she did not have control of the ball. Is that everyone's opinion?
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jun 25, 2004, 02:18pm
Never Stop Learning
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 518
I think the underlying meaning here is that you don't have possession if you don't have control of the ball in hand or glove.
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old Fri Jun 25, 2004, 02:53pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: woodville, tx
Posts: 3,156
Quote:
Originally posted by SamNVa
So the fact that the catcher had "possession" of the ball has no bearing on the obstruction call, since she did not have control of the ball. Is that everyone's opinion?
Throw skips as it comes in causing F2 to mishandle it and the ball ends up trapped against her side in the crook of her elbow. [/B][/QUOTE]

Right Sam, the way the change reads in the OBS rule is
When a fielder not in possession of the ball, or
not in the act of fielding a batted ball impedes progress
of a runner or BR who is legally running the bases.
__________________
glen _______________________________
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things
that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
--Mark Twain.
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old Sat Jun 26, 2004, 10:13pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 548
Send a message via AIM to TexBlue
Ah, well, I might as well agree. The catcher wasn't "about to recieve" the ball. She had already received it. The ole dictionary gives this definition for possession:

Sports.
Physical control of the ball or puck by a player or team.


Soooo, "Dead Ball Obstruction on the catcher! Runner is safe!"

Circle the wagons.
__________________
Rick
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old Sun Jun 27, 2004, 12:57pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Twin Cities MN
Posts: 8,154
Quote:
Originally posted by TexBlue
Ah, well, I might as well agree. The catcher wasn't "about to recieve" the ball. She had already received it. The ole dictionary gives this definition for possession:

Sports.
Physical control of the ball or puck by a player or team.


Soooo, "Dead Ball Obstruction on the catcher! Runner is safe!"

Circle the wagons.
So, it would not be obstruction if she had possession of the puck?
__________________
Tom
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old Sun Jun 27, 2004, 03:40pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 548
Send a message via AIM to TexBlue
Quote:
Originally posted by Dakota
So, it would not be obstruction if she had possession of the puck?
Clearly. Just ask the blue, he/she'll tell you.
__________________
Rick
Reply With Quote
  #14 (permalink)  
Old Mon Jun 28, 2004, 10:54am
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: The Land Of The Free and The Home Of The Brave (MD/DE)
Posts: 6,425
Anywhere else besides ASA (that I know of), it's an out.

Very similar to a play in a game this weekend, ball goes into catcher's mitt and pops out under her arm. Catcher fumbling for control, runner slides in short of the plate. Now catcher is sitting on the plate as runner trys to reach it two more times. On last, the catcher finally has a grip and tags the runner. No arguement about OBS, just a claim that the runner touched during the fumbling, but the fairly large catcher had it completely covered.
__________________
Officiating takes more than OJT.
It's not our jobs to invent rulings to fit our personal idea of what should and should not be.
Reply With Quote
  #15 (permalink)  
Old Mon Jun 28, 2004, 01:50pm
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Sherman, TX
Posts: 4,387
Quote:
Originally posted by CecilOne
Anywhere else besides ASA (that I know of), it's an out.
I'll be willing to bet you that won't last long. I have already heard rumblings of change in USSSA, and I am sure that there will be many others to follow.
__________________
Scott


It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:42am.



Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.3.0 RC1