Another question on a rule

manitoudan

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I should know this but I dont , so I'll ask , Runners on 1 and 2B , soft linen deflects off pitchers glove and is rolling towards SS , The SS comes in to field the ball and the 2b runner simultaneously both touches the ball with her foot and interferes with the SS making the play obstructing her . My guess is she could be called out for either being hit by the ball or the obstruction ? but does the live ball being touched by a defender change any of that ? Thanks .
 

BretMan2

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This is a tricky one that involves not only more than one rule but more than one sanctioning body.

I umpire USA (the softball organization formerly known as ASA) and NFHS (high school) softball, so this answer will pertain to those two. For other sanctions, you'll just have to refer to your rule book. Since the two I do are different, others might be different too.

First, since the pitcher touched this ball we have a deflected batted ball. USA and NFHS both agree about what happens if this batted ball then hits a runner. When a batted ball has been touched/deflected by a fielder, then unavoidably is contacted by a runner, the runner is not out. It's a live ball, play on.

The rules recognize two things here. One, that if the ball was already touched, then the fielder already had a chance to field it. Two, that a deflected ball can suddenly change direction and might unexpectedly bounce into a runner's path. So the rules cut the runner some slack if she's accidentally hit by a touched/deflected ball. She doesn't get called out. She would only be out if the umpire judges that she intentionally contacted the ball.

These two sanctions agree about a runner being hit by a deflected ball, but they differ a little bit when it comes to running into a fielder who's going after a deflected ball.

They both say that a runner who unavoidably contacts a fielder going after a deflected ball is not out. But for some unknown reason, NFHS excludes a deflection by THE PITCHER from this rule. In their game, if it's the pitcher who deflects the ball, the next fielder to go after it is still protected from interference by a runner.

To me, this makes no sense. NFHS must think that a runner should be given a break if hit by a deflected batted ball, since they don't call that runner out. They also think that if the ball is deflected by ANY OTHER FIELDER THAN THE PITCHER that the runner gets the same break and won't be called for interference with the second fielder. Why exclude the pitcher? A batted ball deflected by the pitcher is just as likely to take some weird hop at some odd angle that a runner can't predict.

So, for the play presented...If unavoidably hit by the deflected ball, runner not out. If running into the fielder who's going after the ball, after it was touched by the pitcher, in USA the runner's not out, in NFHS the runner is out.
 
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