Catcher Blocking Home Plate

Neither the slide nor blocking the plate are “bush”. The catcher is taught to block the plate and the runner is taught to score with the catcher blocking the plate. My son (a catcher) was ejected last year for sliding into a catcher when the catcher was set up in the baseline and blocking the plate. (bad call). Coaches need to teach their runners how to disrupt the play (or avoid the tag) and score at home and they also teach their catchers how and when to block the plate. Both are fundamentals of baseball

We need some more informatoin here. Was the catcher in the act of making a play, or was he just camped out in front of the plate.

OBRs say that the fielder may stand in the base path without the ball, IF, the throw is almost to him and he needs to be there to catch the ball. "Almost to him" is a judgment by the umpire. Some say that when a throw is over the infield grass and heading toward the fielder; the fielder is "in the act of fielding" and may stand where he needs to, to catch the ball. However, he may not actually block the base until he has possession of the ball. Until he has possession of the ball he must give the runner some way to get to the base. Obstruction can NEVER be called on a fielder for blocking a base; when he has possession of the ball.

Further, in most travel ball tournament play, there is an additional slide or avoid rule. I have seen a cather get ejected from the game for blocking the plate when there was no play.

Force_Balk,

A couple of unanswered questions here but generally speaking if your player did slide (i.e. butt and one leg on the ground) then he did nothing illegal (or bush for that matter).
Questions:
Was the catcher in possession of the ball or in the immediate act of catching it or was he simply blocking without it? Answer determines whether the catcher has the right to be there.
What call did the umpire make?
Maybe this is a "had to be there" thing.

Coaches have been teaching catchers to block the plate forever. After a certain amount of time catchers become conditioned to it. Most (BUT NOT ALL) of the rules that are used for the age group you mentioned state that if the catcher is in possession of the ball or in the immediate act of catching it then the runner must execute a legal slide or avoid a collision by going around or giving up. (It's a safety thing)
If the catcher was simply trying to block the runner's advance to the plate by getting in the way without the ball then the catcher is guilty of obstruction.

If you can, please provide some additional info on this situation.

Thanks for the input guys,

The runner was scoring from 2nd on a single to right field. Th ball and the runner got there at pretty close to the same time. Runner slid through the catcher and got to the plate. It was a bang bang play.

Now I must ask you guys, you say a catcher is allowed to be 2 feet up the baseline blocking the way to the plate as long as he is making a play. In saying that, I am supposed to teach my boys to jump over the catcher?? Or teach my boys to hook slide around him?

Just a thought. Don't you think it's a bit strange that the catcher is allowed to block
home plate but that infielders are not allowed to block the bases? On a throw from catch
to 2B(runner stealing) the fielder most of the time takes the throw in front of the bag-why couldn't the catcher do the same thing? If rule makers in HS and college ball were
truly interested in the safety of the players this would be a requirement. Besides, no player ever needs to block a base in order to make a tag-if he is in posession of the ball a simple swipe tag will do the trick. Contact is for football and basketball .

As described by you - then I would say the catcher could block the plate. We taught the boys at the 14U and younger stage to run around the catcher. Becuase of the "slide or avoid" they would not get called out for leaving the basepath to avoid the catcher. In fact, one of our catchers at the 15U level this past summer injured his ribcage reaching for a runner going around him.....

Also - OBRs say that a fielder *can* block the base once he has the ball. But the sight of spikes pretty much keeps most from doing so.

quote:

Now I must ask you guys, you say a catcher is allowed to be 2 feet up the baseline blocking the way to the plate as long as he is making a play. In saying that, I am supposed to teach my boys to jump over the catcher?? Or teach my boys to hook slide around him?

It's not a good idea to teach your players to jump over any fielder.

Given the age group you're coaching they are kids who are just beginning to play high school ball. Most states use the Fed (NFHS) rules to govern play. Fed rules prohibit jumping over (hurdling) any fielder unless that fielder is laying flat on the ground. It's another safety rule. (runner is called out) And lets face it; your player may score a run but may also break a wrist or an ankle or a leg or his neck from a bad landing. The risk may be worth it to a pro player but never to a young kid.
As far as leaving the basepath goes. (the 3 foot rule) That's umpire judgement as to just how far the runner went to avoid the tag.

Also:
Any fielder at any base can block if they are in possession of the ball. However, at 1b, 2b and 3b those fielders aren't wearing shin guards, a chest protector or a mask. With greater risk comes greater hesitency.

"if they are in possession of the ball"-key words. What would be the need of blocking the base if player already has the ball-a simple tag would do the
trick. The only reason-IMO-would be to keep runner from getting to the base or the plate until fielder actually gets control of the ball. HS and college rules differ from professional where liberal interpretations of blocking are allowed.

Moc1,

I never said there was any need to block the base or the plate. Only that it is allowed under the rules when in possession of or in the immediate act of catching the ball.

There IS a need to block the plate! A catcher can, and is expected to block the plate while receiving the throw.....Plus it makes for some good pictures!

Pilsner and Fungo, I'm well aware of what is taught to catchers from HS through professional ranks-I'm playing devil's advocate here. As the father of a former catcher-now pitcher-who blocked home plate very well-and actually broke the leg of a
friend because he was "required" to slide into home, I'm questioning the rationale of
of teaching blocking when baseball is supposed to be a finess sport. Again, the only reason to block home plate is to keep the runner from touching the plate until the catcher gets control of the ball. Otherwise, all infielders would be taught to block
all bases. Why can an infielder swipe tag a runner and the catcher cannot?? I see catchers do it all the time, but in my opinion it's become a macho thing to block the plate and because of it a lot of needless injuries have occurred. Ray Fossee, Johnny Estrada come to mind quickly. I agree that it's the way they are taught but maybe a few
changes are in order.

moc you are correct that many are taught to push the envelope of what is expected or allowed in blocking the plate & receiving the ball -

mine was taught (and is still being taught) to allow a small path to a piece of the plate until he receives/has control of the ball, then pivot & drop to eliminate that path preparing for a collision if necessary - or simply tag & avoid a collision

in the crash where the catcher is waiting on the ball & can't prepare for contact - and may not have control - the bad things that can happen are mostly to the catcher

except in youth leagues where the catcher often is bigger than most other kids


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