Award after obstruction on another runner

[youngump]

Originally Posted by blueit

But that's what's been suggested above. Umpire should award a base (a "more than halfway" rule of thumb was suggested) to a runner who hasn't been affected by the obstruction. The runner was rounding 2B when the obs. occurred at home plate.

Or in the 8.4.3 Sit A example, the runner between 1B & 2B wasn't affected by the obstruction occurring at SS. Yet is she awarded 2B? (She can't be put on 1B, where the batter is.)

When an obstructed runner is put out, the ball is dead and this makes more sense then you're giving credit for.
Sitch: R1 on 2nd, B2 hits a short single to left and R1 is obstructed going to third (protected to third). The throw is made to SS where the runner is tagged out just before B2 gets to first.

In the rules this is a dead ball and we award the base we believe the runner would have been safe at had the play continued. (Nothing to do with the result of the obstruction).

In your mind, we should let that play continue. But what do you do with R1. Suppose she is tagged, gets up and runs to 3rd. B2 has rounded the bag and the throw to pick her off goes into shallow right field. R1 decides to go home on this action in a) the fielder having seen her tagged out throws to 1st. in b) the fielder decides to throw home and as a result B2 gets 2nd.
What are you going to do?

Just call it the way the rules read, when an obstructed runner is put out it is an immediate dead ball; the obstructed runner is awarded the protected base and all other runners are awarded the base they would have achieved if the ball had not been called dead. If the obstructed runner is not put out, the ball remains live.

Yes, the defense is more likely to get an out while the ball is live so it is to their advantage in most cases not to retire an obstructed runner, but that's way past most softball players.
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