Obstruction question

[David Emerling]

Originally Posted by DaveASA/FED

ok so David let us in on your conversation, what was their reasoning for awarding a different base, or giving the out or.....what would they have ruled and why???

One fellow thought that an umpire would just be "guessing" that a runner would obtain a certain base and can't know FOR SURE unless the runner proceeds to some extent.

Although I disagree with him he gave several examples; one of which (as I recall) went something like this (paraphrasing, of course):

What if a batter hits the ball down the right field line and the ball ends up in the corner of the field ... as the runner is rounding 1st for what is certainly a multi-base hit, he/she is obstructed by F3. Would/could the umpire think, "I will protect this batter to the plate because it appears to be an inside-the-park homerun."? Maybe - maybe not. But, for the sake of argument, let's say that the umpire does believe it will be an inside-the-parker. Yet, the runner goes into 3rd, standing up, and makes no attempt to score. Should the umpire award the batter home based on his initial assessment that it would be a homer?

His point is that the umpire can only surmise as to what base the runner may obtain but it is the runner's obligation to run the bases in such a way that they could have obtained that base.

In my opinion, the flaw with his logic is that he doesn't seem to understand that the umpire can continually reevaluate his initial impression as the play unfolds. He does not necessarily have to make his final decision on which base to award the instant the obstruction occurs. In other words, I believe the umpire can adopt a wait-and-see attitude about his final ruling.

David Emerling
Memphis, TN