Expert: Brian Flaspohler - 5/15/2009

Question
In a recent 12 year old Little League game, there was an obstruction call which got me confused. The runner on 1B went to 3B on a ground ball hit to the outfield gap. He ran into the SS as we was getting close to 3B. The umpire yelled obstruction and everyone kind of stopped in their tracks. The runner was awarded 3B. I thought obstruction was a continuation call and the umpire uses his judgment to place the players once the play is done. I know the runner had a good chance to score but stopped when the umpire yelled. Thanks

Answer
Dennis,

This is an umpire judgement call.  Given that the players stopped running, the umpire had little choice but to place them where he thought they should go.  He has to make the call, but it is up to the players to continue.

Hope this helps!

Brian