Phantomz08 wrote:My beef with this situation is this if the field umpire thought is was obstruction on the F6, then he/she should have immediately stuck their left arm out signaling obstruction and there wouldn't have been any confusion as obstruction is a judgement call and you cannot argue a judgement call. Too many times the blue does not make the call at the time of infraction and this causes problems.
The umpire doesn't get points for speed. Just how fast would you like the umpire to signal this? "Immediately" is a relative term. How long would you like him/her to hold that signal? There is no time requirement, the umpire can drop that arm anytime s/he feels it has been there long enough to be seen. Then again, if you have an umpire who just doesn't make the call until the end of the play, you either have a lazy umpire or someone who doesn't know the proper mechanics.
Meanwhile, there should be no problems. Coaches and players should be coaching and playing based on the play that is unfolding in front of them, not based on a possible violation. That is when there can be a problem.
Another scenario that drives me crazy is when the defensive coach argues that the ball hit the batter's body after contact was made and has advanced to first base or more. The plate umpire asks the field umpire and the field umpire says, yes it hit her foot. Why on earth did he/she not call it when it happened. This is not an appealable play!!
That is not an appeal, but a simple request for help. However, I agree that if the BU is sure the batted ball hit the batter, s/he should hesitate to see if the PU makes a call. If not, then yes, kill the ball. The reason for the hesitation is to not jump the gun and see if the PU saw something. Like I said, there are no points for speed.