INT or OBS

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Manny A

But since F3 did not touch the ball, then F4 is still a protected fielder.

This is not always the case. The umpire must decide which fielder is protected - and it can't be more than one. Sounds like in this case it was rather obvious, with the ball hit directly to F4 - but just because F3 doesn't touch the ball doesn't necessarily mean F4 is the protected fielder, and on a ball between them where BU feels F3 has the best play, you could indeed have OBS on F4 - even if neither fielder is able to actually get to it.