debate this obscuration or no call?

EAJuggalo

Addicted to Softballfans
From the looks of it I don't have obstruction. No where in the frame do we see the runner slow down or change their path due to the fielder being in the baseline until after the fielder has the ball. You can't have obstruction on a fielder that has the ball.
 

Iceman6409

Active Member
Any thought to the fielder who catches the ball and makes the tag being in the baseline too long before she receives the ball. I get once she has the ball she can block the line or home plate. But she was blocking the line and plate for a good few seconds before receiving and securing the ball. Just a question to think about. I think it was a good play myself.
 

EAJuggalo

Addicted to Softballfans
Any thought to the fielder who catches the ball and makes the tag being in the baseline too long before she receives the ball. I get once she has the ball she can block the line or home plate. But she was blocking the line and plate for a good few seconds before receiving and securing the ball. Just a question to think about. I think it was a good play myself.
In order to call Obstruction you'd have to believe that the fielder standing there altered the decision making of the runner in some way. That the runner slowed down, altered her path or chose not to go because F3 was standing on the plate. We don't see that in the frame and judging by how much time there is between the ball being caught and the tag, I don't think it had any effect.
 
Any thought to the fielder who catches the ball and makes the tag being in the baseline too long before she receives the ball. I get once she has the ball she can block the line or home plate. But she was blocking the line and plate for a good few seconds before receiving and securing the ball. Just a question to think about. I think it was a good play myself.
that is where i ended up in that sense since we cannot confirm where runner is part of the problem i mean personally wasn't my video i just got off TikTok i don't know if it good play or not as we ignoring what we can't see at this age a lot of them get confuses what to do when this happens
 

DeputyUICHousto

Addicted to Softballfans
Based on the video, you cannot make a determination on obstruction as you cannot see the runner. You have no idea if the runner altered her path, slowed down, decided to slide early, etc. This may or may not be obstruction.
 
Based on the video, you cannot make a determination on obstruction as you cannot see the runner. You have no idea if the runner altered her path, slowed down, decided to slide early, etc. This may or may not be obstruction.

I would have obstruction if contact was made BEFORE the fielder caught the ball, this didn't happen. The fielder clearly caught the ball and made one step up the line from home plate, runner slid into the fielder, and fielder applied the tag, no obstruction if i am making this call.
 

EAJuggalo

Addicted to Softballfans
USSSA's National UIC for Fastpitch Victor Canales did a Facebook Live on Monday discussing this play. He said that he did not have obstruction based on what was visible in the video. Nor did he have Malicious Contact on the runner for the hard slide. He did chastise the umpire for not focusing on the players while making that ridiculous call. The umpire admitted he never saw the runner and F5's legs tangled, wouldn't have taken much more for that to turn into an incident.
 
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