blocking the plate question

[rwest]

Originally Posted by reccer

The inside corner belongs to the runner. Blues are not calling obstruction without contact.

This concept that a certain portion of the bag belongs to the runner and a certain portion to the defense is wrong! We need to get away from this type of thinking. The rule is clear, but we seem to what to make it more complicated than it needs to be. The defense can't impede the offense unless they have possession of the ball or they are in the act of fielding a batted ball. Its that simple. Just tell your players to get out of the runners way. Don't tell them the inside corner belongs to the offense because then if they are blocking the outside corner and that's where the runner choses to go we still can have obstruction. Now we have a coach coming out saying "The inside corner belongs to the runner". No Coach, the runner can chose to go to any portion of the bag and the defense can't impede her without the ball. And as someone else has said, most of my obstruction calls have no contact at all. It mainly happens at first where the first baseman is not getting out of the way of the batter-runner rounding first on their way to second or third on a double or triple. No contact, but an obvious deviation of their direction, speed or balance.