Rule Trivia

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by Andy

Ahhhh...there is the real question.

When I read the OP, it seemed pretty straightforward that the BR would be out, so I was looking for what the "real" question was.

Since the obstruction rule says that we can award bases to the obstructed runner and any other runners affected by the obstruction, do we consider the B/R as "affected" and place her back on first?

Re-create the play, absent the obstruction. As I read it, BR would still be on 2nd without paying attention to R1, the only difference is R1 may or may not have been safe back into 2nd on the initial throw behind her; or maybe gets out of the rundown quicker.

In what way was the BR affected? Poor baserunning put her in jeopardy, not the obstruction on R1. If R1 is legally put out (absent obstruction), BR is safe. If R1 gets back safely, with or without obstruction, BR is out when tagged.