Another Obstruction play...

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by wadeintothem

The runner was protected between the two bases...
but at the same time.
The runner had already safely reached the base you would award her had there been no obs (1B)..

You are right here. Runner was protected. Runner was beyond the award base. Happens all the time - shouldn't cause you a problem.

So essentially, you should have either called her out IMO or given her 2B to be consistent on the call..

How can you get it right in the first sentence and then say this. What do you think "protected" means. She's PROTECTED FROM BEING PUT OUT between 1st and 2nd. So protect her. If she's put out, make the award (1st base in this case). It's not about consistency - it's about enforcing the rule as written.

It seems to me once the runner reaches the protected base, they are no longer protected.

Why would it seem to be this way to you, when the rule says the exact opposite. The protection between the bases where obstructed is IN ADDITION to the protection to the award base, not instead of.

By your own ruling after the fact, you didnt protect her to 2nd.. you seem to have a .. "well shes protected to 1b.. then between 1b-2b and if shes out she goes to 1b"

No ... she's AWARDED first base - she's still protected between the bases where the obstruction occurred.

If the play was in anyway close at 2b, argument could be made the runner just might have made it..but thats the htbt part.

Perhaps normally this is true, but additional things can happen AFTER obstruction that cause the play to be close at 2nd when you would not have expected her to reach 2nd had the OBS not occurred (an overthrow after the OBS comes to mind)

IMO, your argument has less to do with an DDB signal and OBS than it does with the power of a umpire to rectify a situation they caused.

No situation to rectify (this only applies if the umpire makes an INCORRECT call).

You recognize your DDB signal caused the coach to send his runner and you fixed it. And thats fine you did that, but thats mixing the two rule sets into one.

Immaterial. If the coach uses my DDB signal to react to, and reacts incorrectly, it's on him. If I have DDB between 1st and 2nd, and he decides to send his runner to THIRD, when I'm only protecting to 1st or 2nd, too bad for him.

either that runner was protected to 2b or to 1b.. cant be both, and if 1b, that runner passed her protected base.

PLEASE read the actual rule again. (Please don't reply until you get out the book and read the actual words of this rule.) You'll see two protections listed - one to the award base, and one between the bases where obstructed. Truly, this is WAY easier than you're making it out to be.