blocking the plate question

[marvin]

Originally Posted by reccer

My advice is do not teach your kids to block bases but DO teach them to look for contact with a defender without the ball. The inside corner belongs to the runner. Blues are not calling obstruction without contact. (See recent discussion regarding the non called obstruction in the CWS game)

At least in high school MC trumps the OBS, also the emphasis should be on safety. DO NOT teach players to SEEK CONTACT. You are teaching them to play in an unsportsmanlike manner. In my experience, when an obstruction call is missed it not because there was no contact, it is because the ump had other responsibilities with multiple runners on.

When the defender does not have the ball (speaking HS again) they have no reason to block any part of the base or the runner's chosen path to the base. If they do and the runner is hindered then obstruction should be called.

Remember the OBS rule does not give runners a license to run over defenders. The rule is there to prevent contact by providing a remedy for the an obstructed runner, not to provide a target for runners to crash into defenders.