Block or no block

[Dakota]

Originally posted by Coach12
5. For some reason the 2nd baseman charged back into the infield and blocked (I belive accidently) my runner allowing the short-stop time to come over and make the tag in the middle of the wreck. Neither my runner nor the 2nd baseman fell down.

Please explain. Was there contact? You said neither fell down, but we are left with a rather vague description of being "blocked."

jack's comments to the contrary, there needs to be a better explanation of this. I've had many, many coaches describe the defense as "blocking" their runners when they were doing no such thing.

You infer that F4 caused your runner to delay ("allowing ... time") - pause, stutter-step, go-around, - if so, that would be OBS.

OTOH, merely being in the baseline (or path) without the ball is not (yet) OBS. Impeding the runner without the ball is OBS.

[Coach12]

"Reply to Tom"

Tom wrote;

Please explain. Was there contact? You said neither fell down, but we are left with a rather vague description of being "blocked."

jack's comments to the contrary, there needs to be a better explanation of this. I've had many, many coaches describe the defense as "blocking" their runners when they were doing no such thing.

You infer that F4 caused your runner to delay ("allowing ... time") - pause, stutter-step, go-around, - if so, that would be OBS.

OTOH, merely being in the baseline (or path) without the ball is not (yet) OBS. Impeding the runner without the ball is OBS.
__________________
Tom

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Hey Tom,

In my update titled, "Replay to U of A Sam" I further indicated that F4 re-entered the infield across the path of R1. They did in fact hit very solid but neither one fell down however, they did dance about trying to get out of the crash. This also created a delay to the point of a "stand-still" for my runner and in my opinion gave F6 time to make the tag. In fact, trying to picture it my mind again I would say that my runner had not taken more than two steps in restarting her forward motion before being tagged.

It's hard to paint a picture of this and of course I don't expect anybody to make a call based on a depiction.

I'm thankful for any feedback on the matter and I think everybody has answered my question in their way. In fact I feel that everybody who has responded would have given me a better call.

Best regards!

[officialtony]

Please understand that all officials are part of an organization. As such we tend to want to protect ( defend ) each other. We are very slow to criticize another official without having ( understanding ) all the facts concerning a given situation. We ask questions, trying to get a good feel for what really happened. Then we try to apply the rules to that situation. When an official's judgment is at question, we will generally side with the official because we presume he had the best view - and understanding - of what actually happened. That doesn't mean he was right ( or wrong ), but that we tried to give you the best evaluation of what we were given. That doesn't mean what we provide for you in the way of a response is right ( or wrong ). What we give you is based on our experiences of applying rules in given situations. You then get to digest what we provide for you and draw your own conclusions.
Not trying to beg off answering here. Just trying to help you understand what you can expect from this forum.

Based on all I have read here, it sounds like Obstruction. But your on-the-spot official saw it differently,and unltimately, his ruling is what matters. I have kicked my share of calls as I progressed in my career. I adjust and move on. Hopefully, your official did too.

Hope that helps.