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Interesting play at the plate a colleague told me about. Runner on 3rd is trying to score on a play. Catcher takes off his mask and throws it down. It ends up in the 3rd base running lane (probably unintentionally). Runner tries to avoid it but trips on it and is tagged out. Obstruction and run scores?

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One of my pet peeves in the last few years has been catchers/coaches taking advantage of the no contact rule and catchers working up the line forcing the runner to change direction to avoid a tag and inevitably being out because he is not sure what to do or has to slow to change direction.  I have never seen an umpire in this situation favor the base runner and call obstruction.

Originally Posted by IEBSBL:

One of my pet peeves in the last few years has been catchers/coaches taking advantage of the no contact rule and catchers working up the line forcing the runner to change direction to avoid a tag and inevitably being out because he is not sure what to do or has to slow to change direction.  I have never seen an umpire in this situation favor the base runner and call obstruction.

They should be. What fielders are allowed to do without the ball changes slightly from set to set, but this is most likely obstruction in all of them. Whatever set you use, learn it, ask questions here, and learn what questions to ask of umpires.

 

Also, speaking of pet peeves, there is no "no contact rule." All national sets allow contact; its the manner in which it is initiated that determines legality/illegality.

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