Is Obstruction Mental?

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by tcannizzo

Dead Ball. Runner out for crashing. Return other runners to bases last touched at time of crash.

Not necessarily. Had a situation the other night in a playoff game between two 5A schools, where both the catcher and the pitcher were blocking the runner's access to the plate. Even when the runner tried to move to the inside, the catcher moved with her, caught the ball, and got plowed into all at about the same time. The only ruling I could have possibly had was OBS, because both defensive players were actively hindering the runner's access to the plate, causing her to deviate her path. The subsequent crash was a result, not of interference, but of their obstruction.

[CecilOne]

If the fielder or catcher being positioned in the base path is the reason the runner can't get to the base; isn't that OBS? If the defender is not blocking and would have had to move into the block, it is not certain that the defender would accomplish the block with the ball. That means being in the base path originally creates an advantage for the defender, hence a disadvantage/impedance for the runner.