first base. white or orange?

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Two seperate thoughts/observations: I think defense in this situation gets unfair advantage, as their area to field a bad throw is effectively squared if allowed to use both bags. Second, umpires need to actually PAY ATTENTION to the position of the 1st baseman, as we had two girls injured two years ago at Stingray playing an Indiana team whose 1b was bigger than me(no joking) and who planted herself ACROSS the bag on every play. Umpire says she is entitled to her position and WE have to adjust....When you have a team built for speed and small ball, having Tony Siragusa playing first is bad news...

Know exactly who you are talking about. 4-5 base hits became outs cause kids literally had nowhere to step and slowed into 1b. Defensively it's brilliant because most BLUE won't call the obstruction.

I told our girls to run through the kid but none of them seemed eager to take that on. LOL!

 

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Know exactly who you are talking about. 4-5 base hits became outs cause kids literally had nowhere to step and slowed into 1b. Defensively it's brilliant because most BLUE won't call the obstruction.

I told our girls to run through the kid but none of them seemed eager to take that on. LOL!

Just like basketball, there is SOME contact - and it is a VERY important part of the game to know how to handle that contact, especially for the kid's safety! We (hopefully) teach batters to turn away and pull the bat down close to their body when the impending HBP is headed their way. We (hopefully) teach the girls how to slide into second base to break up a double play.

Notice what Quaker said... politely tip the umpire that the base is being blocked. It sounds like this is a common occurrence in games you are playing. So why not do some drills in practice with a "big adult" straddling first base? Show the kids how to "brush" the blocker (NOT CRASH!) and "sell it" to the umpire. No one gets hurt, and the runner has made her point. If the umpire isn't completely blind, he/she will be aware of the situation, and you will have a runner on second base. Obviously, no one has taught your opponent's first baseman how to play her position, so take advantage of that and use it to your team's advantage! That's a bonus double just handed to you.

 

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... Notice what Quaker said... politely tip the umpire that the base is being blocked. It sounds like this is a common occurrence in games you are playing. So why not do some drills in practice with a "big adult" straddling first base? Show the kids how to "brush" the blocker (NOT CRASH!) and "sell it" to the umpire. No one gets hurt, and the runner has made her point. If the umpire isn't completely blind, he/she will be aware of the situation, and you will have a runner on second base. Obviously, no one has taught your opponent's first baseman how to play her position, so take advantage of that and use it to your team's advantage! That's a bonus double just handed to you.

I agree players need to be taught to make obstruction discernable by the umpire. Early and slight adjustments in speed and/or path will rarely trigger a call by the umpire. It is better to do it where the defender is positioned.

However, you do not get an extra base from an obstruction call - just the base the umpire judges the runner would have reached had it not occurred. Changing the rule to give the umpire the option of awarding an extra base would go a long way in cutting down on it.

 

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SoCal - I realize she doesn't get the extra base - unless in the umpire's judgement she could have made it to second base without the obstruction. Very similar to "selling" an offensive foul in basketball.

On a typical single, if the runner is experienced at "making her point", she will at least be on first.