Catcher Obstruction Rule

[TopHat]

I was merely commenting in regards to your statement that a home plate collision is like apple pie and blah blah.
Sliding technique is not really the issue in obstruction.

You probably have more friends wearing blue than I do. I just dont trust them to help us score so I work towards teaching the girl how to properly slide. Catchers are always going to be there. That is the game, no matter how much you deny it.

You have a better chance at rapture than getting that called in a game, so learn/teach how to deal with it.

[fasterpitch92701]

Ok, TopHat, you get my award for the top dip weed, clown ass jerk of the week. Macho man! Are your testicles hanging right or are you just gods gift of semi-lucid intelligence? What is it?

What WAS an attempt at a constructive conversation/question was interrupted by your stupidity. Feel free to go elsewhere. "Catchers are always going to be there". How insightful. Is that the best you can do? Metal cleats in the face of a head first slide... hey "catchers always going to be there". Shoulder down, break a neck but "catchers always going to be there". How simple minded can you be? Oh, but YOU teach girls how to properly slide? What makes you the king shi* of all intellect? What are your grand credentials? No one you have ever "instructed" has ever been injured because..... because.... you are so fantastically brilliant.

You take the cake for being an as*hole. Congratulations.

No need to respond as this thread is over. All intellect has left the building leaving you behind.

[watcher]

I see much more obstruction at 1st base, F-3 in the way of batter-runner going to 2nd on a double.

[TopHat]

Hey palooka,

You are on a message board complaining about a call that is not called at any level. About the only time I see a call like this made is by usually a horrible umpire who has ruined the entire game anyway and it clearly a horible call combined with many other horrible calls he made that day. The game was all about him all day and thats no fun. Even if it was in our favor, you know someone just got robbed (much funnier if it is in your favor though).

On the bang bang play at home, teach proper sliding and your runner wont draw the Obstruction call, but she wont be out either. Thats a pretty good trade!

You practice techiniques to draw the obstuction call at home and your stats will be about like this:

Out - 85%

Safe - 10%

Obstruction - 5%


You would be better off trying to draw the obstruction on the bases than at home. First base is good for that, but sometimes you can trip up with the shortstop and get it.

Home is money. Its no time to rely on umpires to supplement inability.

[THE MAD-DOG99]

[i]"Also , if the cather throws a bullet down to second and it is inside the bag, the shortshop should not be able to field it because she might impede the runner..??"[/i]


Yes... if she is impeding the runner then she is obstructing. She cannot (IMHO) stand on the line between 2nd and 1st waiting for the ball to arrive, blocking the basepath and stopping/impeding/forcing the runner out of the basepath if she does not have the ball. That is called hockey, not softball.

I have a fairly fervent opinion on that play as a clown shortstop at a Surf City tournament last year (fall) did just that. No ball, no anything, other than playing goalie and standing there, shoulder down, ready to take out the runner. The runner took evasive action, slide to the inside, caught the bag with the middle and third fingers, snapping two metacarpel's. She was safe on the slide. Blue called obstruction anyway (double safe!). Opposing coach came out on the field and lectured the shortstop as the runner was off to the hospital. 4 titanium screws later, lots of rehab, large scar, back to normal.

I guess that's why we have umpires..still think you are looking for an excuse for obstruction..

If a catcher throws a bullet down to 2nd, SS crosses in front of the base to get the ball and is having to "wait "for the runner to get there..or as you would say...she needs to have the ball first before going to the runner..I suggest that kid is way to slow to be playing any sport..since 90% of the time the throw and runner are arriving at the same time... once again, a bang-bang play that happans all the time..If there was no throw and the SS was just standing there..or the throw was way off line no where near the base and the SS doesn't move..you have a point..

Same with play at home..line drive to OF..cather throws bat out of way and corners home waiting for throw..you would say she cannot stand on or near the plate...??
If there was no throw or there was clearly not going to be a play at the plate..once again..your point is noted..

[SnocatzDad]

I don't think that you can coach SS position on a tag on a steal, or catcher position on a play at the plate the same way you would for baseball. That is the purpose of the OBS rule. Softball made a decision that it would differentiate from baseball in that regard and if you want to coach girls to play it like baseball, because you expect the umps will call it like baseball that will eventually catch up with you. The other problem you have is roster size. A HS/College team might have 20-30 players they can reach out to, if you have 11 or 12 that have to get you through an entire season and you want to put SS/Catcher into 3-4 unnecessary collisions (i.e. ball isn't there no opportunity for an out) a game hoping no one calls OBS then you may have difficulty fielding a team by year end.

[coxjj]

I don't think that you can coach SS position on a tag on a steal, or catcher position on a play at the plate the same way you would for baseball. That is the purpose of the OBS rule. Softball made a decision that it would differentiate from baseball in that regard and if you want to coach girls to play it like baseball, because you expect the umps will call it like baseball that will eventually catch up with you. The other problem you have is roster size. A HS/College team might have 20-30 players they can reach out to, if you have 11 or 12 that have to get you through an entire season and you want to put SS/Catcher into 3-4 unnecessary collisions (i.e. ball isn't there no opportunity for an out) a game hoping no one calls OBS then you may have difficulty fielding a team by year end.

You have to play all out all of the time. You can't be worried about "what if I get an injury". Our high school team had 10 players that got virtually all of the playing time and they played that way all year long. You can't rely on what the umpire may or may not call, you have to keep it in your hands all of the time. Therefore, when sliding into a base, you're going all out and making the slide that is necessary to be safe regardless of where the fielder sets up. You use hook slides, head first slides around the fielder ... whatever it takes to be safe. Same way on defense. Our fielders were not worried about whether or not they were setting up in such a way to draw an obstruction call or not. They were there to make the play as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you end up getting called for obstruction, you make adjustments as necessary so that you don't. If your players are busy spending time obstructing when there's no play there hoping they won't get caught, then they're in the wrong place because they be should be somewhere else in the field helping with cutoffs or backing up someone else.

[SnocatzDad]

Our fielders were not worried about whether or not they were setting up in such a way to draw an obstruction call or not.

Then IMO they aren't being coached. Because there is a way to set up in the best possible position without being liable to be called for obstrucion

They were there to make the play as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you end up getting called for obstruction, you make adjustments as necessary so that you don't.

If you end up getting called for obstruction that isn't efficient. Basically your implying that you should set up to impede the runner coming in and hope it doesn't get called. Because that might get you more outs than not obstructing. That's a philosophy. I'm sure it's shared because I see it all the time. Just not for me.

[coxjj]

Our fielders were not worried about whether or not they were setting up in such a way to draw an obstruction call or not.

Then IMO they aren't being coached. Because there is a way to set up in the best possible position without being liable to be called for obstrucion

They were there to make the play as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you end up getting called for obstruction, you make adjustments as necessary so that you don't.

If you end up getting called for obstruction that isn't efficient. Basically your implying that you should set up to impede the runner coming in and hope it doesn't get called. Because that might get you more outs than not obstructing. That's a philosophy. I'm sure it's shared because I see it all the time. Just not for me.

Well they were certainly coached, we had zero obstruction calls the entire year. It was pretty efficient.

You never set up to impede the runner, you set up to make the play. There are several variables that happen between when you set up and when the play is made (the determination of whether the ball or the runner will get there first, the trajectory of the incoming throw, the path the runner is taking, etc.). How all of those variables end up happening determines how/when the tag is made and where you are when it happens. If impeding ends up occurring, you figure out what occurred so it can be avoided next time.

[watcher]

DD has been taught to set-up to block the plate, A foot or so up the line, If the throw is not there before the runner arrives she just moves a little towards the infield & back a 1/2 step giving the runner a clear path to the plate & attempts a sweep-tag. Sometimes when the runner see's F2 do this they slow up a touch.

I have found over the years that no two blues call it the same, I guess a catcher needs to "test" the water and see what she can get away with.