This play happened on a boys 13 game I was watching last night.
Bases empty, one out. Batter hits a gapper in right center field. As he is rounding first, the first baseman is caught watching the ball and is right in the way of the runner. They run into each other. The runner doesn't fall down but he looses his balance and almost comes to a stop. He gets going again, rounds second and is thrown out at a close play at third. The Umpire, who was signaling obstruction, called him out.
Was he right?
I heard the argument and will give you my opinion in a little bit.
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He was wrong. The Runner was Safe !
ReplyDeleteEven though, I felt that the umpire made the wrong ruling. His thought process was correct. He told the coach that he didn't think the runner was going to get a triple if the obstruction hadn't taken place. He was going to award second and once he passed second, the obstruction was nullified. Now, when I learned about how to call this play, I was always taught that if they are thrown out on a close play, the runner most likely would have gotten to the base if the obstruction hadn't occured. If they are thrown out by a mile, then they should be out and the obstruction didn't make a difference.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, it was a VERY close call, so yes I would have given the runner third base. However, this umpire did a good job a presenting his case in a way that was for all concerned, correct. He didn't think the runner was going to get to third so he was out. In the end, this is a judgement call and even though I don't agree with the umpires judgement, his argument is sound.