Obstruction...or not?

[mcrowder]

Grey - I would argue that the rules we are required to implement are dependent on the runner's reason for slowing, that the 12-year old's reasonability is EXACTLY what you should be ruling on, and not yours or mine. While it's impossible to get in their head and know for sure, what we should be ruling on is - why did SHE think she needed to slow down, not "Do I (who have seen 1000 times more games than this poor 12 year old) think she should have slowed down".

Dakota - I agree 100%. That's a fine line, but it's also an important distinction.

Catcher in the basepath without the ball - not OBS (it's an illegal act, but NOT yet OBS).
Runner slowing - Possibly OBS now, dependent on one thing - was her reason for slowing the fact that the basepath was obstructed.
OBS requires A) an illegal act by a fielder, and B) a runner reacting to that illegal act.

As to the initial situation, I believe you'll find nearly 100% agreement on this board that it is not OBS (and maybe even 75-80% agreement on the other 2 boards, with only the 20-25% troll factor skewing your results).