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blocking the plate question
great forum
i am a asa coach and before that a youth league coach. i have a question for you. what is the proper way according to the asa rules ( i have been reading the rule book but have not found it) for a player to positon herself to recieve the throw at a base we have told our girls to staddle the base and leave the center open at some asa tournys this was fine but at some it was not the girls were told they had to be behind the plate or to the side. i am just looking for the best way to instruct our girls as i stated before a great forum i have been reading the posts and have learned alot of useful information thank you for your time sumfan |
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As an Umpire...
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I know I didn't give you what you asked for, but I hope this helps. |
Very true, guys. In this case, the rule book does not say what a defensive player CAN do, only what a defensive player CAN'T do. The only advice I can offer is to tell your players that they can't block the runner's path without the ball, and the runner can choose their own path.
So get out the way! :) |
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There's no "proper" way to do it. There are some handy tools out there, however. Have you taken the ACE courses this year? I know it talks about it in some of the ACE material, but I also know some JO commissioners aren't quite as adamant about coaches getting their ACE certification as others. The rules supplement, in the back part of your edition of the rule book talks about obstruction. As rwest pointed out, the obstruction rule (changed 3-4 years ago) pretty much requires your girls to catch the ball, then block and tag. Straddling the base, even if you think this gives the runner "some of the base," may be obstruction one time, not obstruction another time. Remember: the runner establishes the base path. Remember, too, obstruction is a judgement call by the umpire. One ump's obstruction might not be obstruction in someone else's eye. Look up that ACE material, check out the rules supplement concerning obstruction, and visit with coaches you respect about how your players should position themselves. Good luck to you and your team. |
One ump's obstruction might not be obstruction in someone else's eye.
---------------------------------------------------- Coach here. Jones comment is a key takeaway from this thread. I'm finding my former coaching brethen turned Blues are much more apt to call obstruction than the old school guys who started their profession under different guidelines. Go back and look at the much discussed crash video. Why is the catcher so deep (behind the base path to begin with?) If she were in front of the basepath, would she possibly have been able to catch the throw on the fly and apply the tag a split second sooner? Straddling the base path without the ball gave her an advantage to force the runner into a wider path. Unfortunately for our catcher, the runner chose the direct line approach. The Blues on this forum generally agree that potential obstruction occurred on the part of the catcher, but they saw no deviation in the runners path as a reaction to the obstruction. Through the magic of the pause button, I see a reaction on the part of the runner prior to the ball being possessed by the fielder. She is lowering her body into heat seaking missle mode and being prematurely forced to slide. The correct call should be obstruction, and MC. 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) Its tough enough to generate offense with the batters box to batters box sized strike zone, we need some rules interpretations leaning in the offenses direction. |
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As the old saying goes, "if it were easy, everyone would be doing it." |
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The inside corner belongs to the runner
Blue, you were taught to catch the corner when baserunning. That is the inside corner I am referring to. Female runners routinely have to hit the top of the bag when base running because defensive players are cluelessly going to their bag when they don't have the ball. Attached is a picture for illustration. F5 (DD:() has thrown wildly to first and F9 fell down when backing up. At the time of the picture, ball is rolling into RF corner, yet SS is cluelessly at/near her bag. She should be moving into backup position for the relay throw home. Slideshows |
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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. |
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Don't put a Jack Tatum on them, but get some contact to draw Blue's attention. Bottom line. Just have your runners do what they are supposed to do. If they are supposed to catch corners, have them do so, if the defender is in the way, well............ |
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My suggestion is to simply have the runner go, "woah!" as they dodge the defensive player. That's a better way of catching an umpire's attention, especially if they're watching another runner or checking for the ball. |
It was for this very reason.....
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Coach, IMHO, it would be wise to avoid teaching this tactic to your players. Otherwise, you might get an out and then an ejection when you argue the call. |
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If a runner makes contact with a defender intentionally, the runner is done. If the coach is dumb enough to come out to argue the point and happens to mention that is how s/he coaches, the player will have company. Quote:
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The case play that was presented was the typical play at first, where the first baseman doesn't get out of the way and the runner collides with F3 intentionally to draw the OBS.
Duly noted guys, and thanks for the case play reference. But remember, I coach in Texas, and apparently anything short of decapitation is not MC. |
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