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Thu Apr 19, 2001, 09:52pm
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Catcher straddling the plate waiting for the ball.... R1 coming home... The ball is coming to the catcher but what distance is reasonable?
If the ball is more than __________ feet away we have obstruction. If the ball is __________ feet away or less we have interferrence. What do you guys look for? Chuck 
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Thu Apr 19, 2001, 10:13pm
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ASA says that the ball must reach the catcher before the runner for it NOT to be obstruction (the ball being closer to the catcher than the runner)........unless the catcher is drawn into the path of the runner by the throw.......Even if the ball is there 1/100th of a second before the runner........you have no obstruction....this is a very tough call many times and you cannot differentiate it. If the tag is made or the ball arrives at roughly the same time as the runner........I won't call obstruction.
In my case..........if the ball is obviously later than the play (catcher blocks the runner...makes catch...applies tag).......then I would call obstruction.......if not, it is probably a good defensive play by the catcher. (remember though......the runner is still responsible for legally touching the plate.....even after an obstruction call or she is liable to be called out on appeal). I have seen either the catcher/pitcher blocking the plate a lot in 16U/18U this year.........Personally, the advantage gained is not worth the risk of injury....... As a Dad of a daughter who catches.......I would NEVER coach my daughter to block the runner off the plate unless she clearly had the ball before the runner arrives........the chance of having a runner slide into you with your attention on the ball is too great. Life is too short to give yourself up as a teenager to possibly legally/illegally block a player off the plate. Joel See ASA POE on obstruction...........1st paragraph...... [Edited by Gulf Coast Blue on Apr 19th, 2001 at 10:16 PM]
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Thu Apr 19, 2001, 10:45pm
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Probably like me Bob.......Chuck did not think it through......sometimes the obvious just goes right over our heads (I like to call those 6'2" jokes)
You could have interference if the catcher had the ball......and the runner crashed into the fielder.....but as you pointed out.....if the ball was ________ feet away.....interference could not be called..........BUT......malicious contact could be called if the runner crashed the fielder without the ball...........you would have obstruction......with ejection of the runner........my point of not having catcher block the plate is obvious in this instance........ A clean tag can be easily made from the front half of the plate in these instances......... JMHO Joel
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Thu Apr 19, 2001, 11:25pm
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Joel & Bob
I hate to disagree with you guys but I do believe you can have interference on this play at home before the ball reaches the catcher please correct me if I am wrong. A ball that is in flight 20 ft from the catcher and the runner makes contact standing up should be called interference I believe 8-8-Q States "When a defensive player has the ball or is about to CATCH a thrown ball and the runner remains on his feet and crashes into the defensive player". Effect: The ball is dead and the runner is out.If the act is flagrant then the offender shall be ejected I've heard on other post using a rule of thumb on this would be if the ball is in flight inside the pitcher's plate which sounds fair to me since you are probably talking about less than .02 seconds here before ball arrives. Please correct me if I am wrong Thanks Don
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 04:58am
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UB correct Don............no more posts for Joel after 10 p.m.
 Joel
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 09:29am
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As an example for why NOT to block a base...
Play at 3rd. F5 is standing at 3rd about to receive a throw from F7. F5 has her right foot directly in front of the base. Runner from 2nd who was a "big boned" girl slides into 3rd and catches F5 right in the ankle. There was nothing malicious about the slide and it didn't appear to me that the runner intentionally aimed for the girl's ankle, but never the less, the EMT's carried F5 off the field with a suspected broken ankle. So to the coaches visiting, it just ain't worth it. Teach your players to get out of the way and just sweep the tag on the runner.
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 11:13am
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Don,
Sorry, but I have to disagree. Steve had this right from the beginning. In ASA ball, the fact that a ball has been thrown does NOT give the defensive player the right to set up in the basepath or block a base. In ASA, "about to receive" or catch a thrown ball, means that at some point the thrown ball MUST come between the runner and fielder. Of course, a throw doesn't always physically come between the two, but it basically means that at some point the ball gets closer to the defensive player than the runner. There is no prescribed distance or physical point of reference the ball must pass. If you must have a point of reference, use the defensive player. More than 99% of all throws move faster than the runner and if it gets closer than the runner, the ball will arrive first. If it is so close that you can't tell which got there first, then you have nothing more than a wreck. If an errant throw draws the defender into the path of the runner, you have nothing but a wreck. There cannot be an out for interference unless it is clear that the defender had the ball. As far as an ejection, that can come anytime the umpire feels an act was malicious, but it does not necessarily allow the umpire to call a runner out.
__________________
The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 11:19am
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Quote:
Only a catcher who can control their drop to use their shinguards for protection should ever think about using their legs to block a base and even then, I don't believe that is a very intelligent move for a child.
__________________
The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 11:37am
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The rule of thumb is what I was looking for, but all the other information was very helpful.
We're most of the way through our season now. Lately in our 18U group, some catchers are intentionally blocking the plate and some runners are intentionally running over them (and I believe that they are being coached to do exactly that). Unlike Joel, several of these coaches have none of these girls as their own and are not quite as protective of them as they should be. So we're trying to crack down on this behavior before someone does get carried off by the EMT's. And we want to be as accurate on our calls as possible which is what prompted the question. No question as to my longevity in the sport with a total of 12 games under my belt, but as in all sports, our group has its share of "Know it alls". I listen to what is said, but I feel more comfortable with the answers I get from this discussion board. Thanks guys! Chuck
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 12:24pm
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"Joel & Bob
I hate to disagree with you guys but I do believe you can have interference on this play at home before the ball reaches the catcher please correct me if I am wrong." It's MALICIOUS CONTACT, and ejection. Bob
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 03:14pm
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Mike
Believe me I am not trying to start a argument but to better understand you all have far superior knowledge than mine But 8-8-Q clearly talks about a defensive player in the act of ABOUT TO RECIEVE a ball in flight and it states under the effect that the runner should be called out for interference and ejected if the act is flagarant. Also POE 13 states same information on crashing into a fielder while standing up and the fielder is about to receive a thrown ball. It adds the runner can slide,jump over the top of the fielder, go around or go back if not then the runner is out for interference I am not trying to say it all right for a defender to block a base or home but the fielder does have the right to make the play without getting run over with or without the ball if the ball is in FLIGHT Would it make any difference of the fielder was 1/4 of the way down the line instead of directly in front of home plate waiting to receive the ball in flight?? Please help me clarify this all replies apprecitated Stubborn Don [Edited by oppool on Apr 20th, 2001 at 03:32 PM]
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Fri Apr 20, 2001, 04:58pm
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Quote:
"About to receive the ball" is defined as the ball getting closer to the defender than the runner. This is basically there to relieve a defender from being called for obstruction when s/he misplays a thrown ball prior to the runner reaching the point of contacting that player. The defender does NOT have the right to impede a base runner just because a ball is in flight. The only time this is not true is when an errant throw draws the defender into the path of a runner. BTW, that must be judged by the umpire as innocent. If the umpire notices the defender trying to manipulate his/her body to intentionally contact the runner on an errant throw, s/he may still rule obstruction. However, you are only going to call an out when there was going to be an out made. If the runner intentionally runs over a defender, they will be ejected whether safe or out. BTW, an ejection is not in effect until a play is over. Now, if the defender is taken out of the play by an intentional crash, and it prevents him/her from making a play on another runner, then I will kill the ball, rule interference, and rule the runner on which a play could have been made out.
__________________
The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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Sat Apr 21, 2001, 01:35am
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Don,
Don't get too comfortable. Its different in Fed. Malicious contact superceeds obstruction. If a runner guilty of malicious contact has not scored before the contact, they are out and ejected. (USSSA also) We wouldn't want to make it too easy, would we. Roger Greene, Member UT [Edited by Roger Greene on Apr 21st, 2001 at 01:58 AM]
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