I am 1st base umpire .
Runner at first and batter hits a high ball to centre field which is caught .
Runner has lead off and is foot tripped on purpose and gets up and runs through 2nd and is thrown out at 3rd .
I call dead ball , obstruction safe on third and eject the 1st baseman for unsportsmanlike behaviour .
The coach comes on and I give him my explanation , which he accepts.
He then appeals for the runner not tagging up .
I pass this to my plate umpire and he says no he didnt and returns the runner to 1st ( Also said I was wrong in the ejection privatly between us .)
The plate umpire is very senior to me and in the past has made it clear that his word is final , but I stick my neck out and between us two only say I believe the runner should be given out .
ISF interpretation and rulings .

Are you working with an ostrich?

Two ways to go here:

R1 out on appeal if he left early or not out and left at 3B. Returning the runner to 1B is not an option.

Question: Why did the PU take the appeal? That is your call all the way.

Have absolutely no problem ejecting F3 for USC since you determined the action to be intentional.

First of all, I expect the trip was obviously flagrant and in no way could be considered accidental. With that being the case, I would judge that a malicious act and therefore warrents the ejection.
Now for R1, I would say that, due to the obstruction (trip), the runner was protected to return to 1st base, tag up, and awarded 2nd. Once R1 passed 2nd base, the delayed dead ball call would drop and the results of the play at 3rd stand. When the appeal that R1 did not tag up at 1st base was honored, then R1 is out.

By the way, what are you doing up at this time of the morning?

Runner tripped by F3. Runner has lead off. (Baseball, or waiting for
catch?) Was the runner returning to tag up before advancing when
trip took place?

If ball was caught in center field, (most softball fields being
200') and runner is then thrown out going to 3B, In my judgment, s/he
went beyond my protection on the obstruction. A <b>HTBT</b> play.
As Mike stated, I would eject under USC not malicious contact if I
judged the act to be intentional.

You wonder why people get confused. Why do you feel the need to read things into or out of a scenario that was quite specific.

The runner was "foot tripped on purpose". That is intentional, it cannot be questioned as the umpire there has made that determination. If you don't eject a player for doing that, you are going to have a tough career.

The umpire responsible for making the judgment for this obstructed runner states, "I call dead ball , obstruction safe on third". That's it, this runner was protected to 3B. No other options or opinions, the runner in this play was protected to 3B.

Yes, a runner is protected between the bases with a few exceptions. One of them is leaving a base too soon on a batted ball caught in flight or off another offensive player or attached equipment. The coached properly appealed the play and the runner is out.

Debeau nailed this play from start to finish. The only possible question can be where did Senor Partner get his training and does he really know the rules.

Wow, irish nailed it for me, but how do you handle the plate umpire?

Thanks for the support .
I am in New Zealand so at present it is 6-30pm Wednesday .
As base umpire two man team I am 3/4 between 1st and 2nd and with a hit to the outfield I come infield and watch for obstruction of the runner and ensure batter/ runner touches 1st base .
The plate umpire checks the catch and the tag up so the appeal is his call
As in a lot of cases umpires tend to remember most of the a particular rule .
The runner is protected if obstructed between bases but is also protected to any base if in the judgement of the umpire they would have made that base if they were not obstructed. An easy tag going to a base out . A close play going to a base safe on that base .
However as noted by some , a succesful appeal over rules this and the runner is out .
PU is an older umpire who has not kept up with rules .
Local Association disciplinary committee found my ejection correct .

I only play under ISF rules .
How many different sets of rules do you guys have to deal with ?
This is great to be able to discuss softball with umpires from the US .
I hope we have many discussions and I will bring up any interesting plays as often as I can .

Locally, maybe, but not ISF. If the BU does not go out on the fly ball, they have the tag and takes the runner into 2B. The BU can cover this and still note whether the soon-to-be-retired BR touches 1B. The PU has the catch and R1 at 3B and home if the play continues.

Quote:

As in a lot of cases umpires tend to remember most of the a particular rule . The runner is protected if obstructed between bases but is also protected to any base if in the judgement of the umpire they would have made that base if they were not obstructed. An easy tag going to a base out . A close play going to a base safe on that base .

You may use that as a rule of thumb, but it's not true.

Debeau,
you can find the specific rule for this situation in R.8 Sec.7-b 3-(b) - ISF rulebook of course.

I agree with Irishmafia about BU responsabilities.
We have to consider also that (with runners on bases)
BU n e v e r go out on a fly ball.
In this situation R1 was under your solely responsability.

A.