OBS at the plate

[reccer]

Originally Posted by richez

What should I have told our players and this young ump?

Tell your kids to slide or step around the catcher. If possible, have your on deck batters give guidance to your runners whether they should slide or not. If your kids stay up and make contact, which in the umpire's judgement is malicious, Blues will eject your runner for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Tell the young ump the idea behind the obstruction rule is to reduce contact and make the game safer. Suggest to her that she should move over to baseball.

[Ran.D]

someone should "just run over" young ump for giving this advice.

My DD has caught for years and has been coached to not block the plate without the ball (or with the ball if she can make a clean tag). However, there are times when she must get in the baseline for the catch. It's a dangerous situation and should be treated as such. Runners should be coached to avoid contact, or slide, not to run over the catcher.

In my opinion, malicious contact is not called often enough, nor is obstruction when catchers are taught to block the plate.

Priority for both coaches and umpires should be protecting the players.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Ran.D

Priority for both coaches and umpires should be protecting the players.

Priority is for the coaches to instruct their players how to play their respective position in a safe, but effective manner within the parameters of the rules.

The umpire's priority is to officiate the game in accordance to the rules and apply them as necessary in the manner in which they have been instructed in the clinics and schools attended.

If both do their jobs properly, the players will be as safe as the game allows.