Obstruction

[Rita C]

Originally Posted by The Stiff

I am a coach looking for some guidance on calling obstruction. Situation was: I had runner on second with two outs. Bloop single to center field. Shortstop is in the baseline, and my runner and the shorstop do the hokey pokey before my runner gets past. I see the umpire put his fist out, so I waive my runner home figuring that, if she is out, the call won't stand because of the obstruction call. She was in fact out, and the out stood as I was told that the obstruction call only got her to the next base (which at the time was third). Is that the correct call?

Seems odd to me since she would have easily scored had the shortstop not obstructed her. If that is the correct call, why not have your shortstop do that on all base hits?

Thanks in advance for any interpretations here.

There is one thing that the other umpires are NOT catching that I see.

What if the umpire meant just what he said? That the player only gets the next base? It is entirely possible that he meant just that. It is entirely possible that this umpire doesn't understand that sometimes the umpire is supposed to protect the runner to the base he or she would have reached without the obstruction. It is entirely possible that this umpire thought that one base was the MAXIMUM award possible.

If this is what he meant, then Coach, you had grounds for a protest. If a play is being made on a runner who is obstructed, there is a MINIMUM award of one base in most codes. Your umpire may have misunderstood this and thought it was a maximum.

By the description of your play, if I had judged what you saw, she would have been awarded home.

Rita