malicious contact/ sliding required to avoid it?

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A couple people mentioned to me that in ohsaa you are required to slide in a non force out situation as per some rule in ohsaa, ive never heard of such a thing that you were required to slide anytime, is there really a rule that states you are required to slide at any base?

 

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There is no rule that says a runner is required to slide EVER- in any circumstance (force play, non-force play, fielder with the ball, without the ball, a play being made, not being made, etc).

PS: OHSSA does not make the playing rules. They cover administrative things, like eligibility and participation. OHSAA does not publish a rule book. High school ball in Ohio uses NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) rules, as published by that national governing body.

 

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Is a player subject to ejection is there is a collision? Does intent or severity have any weight?

 

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Yes, severity does come into play. If there is a collision as a result of the runner simply trying to advance to the next base, while the runner may be out for the collision but not ejected.

"Malicious contact" means that the runner did something above and beyond just trying to reach the base. It is defined as using excessive force against an opponent. If the contact is deemed excessive and malicious, then the runner may also called out AND ejected.

This is kind of the "short and simple" version of the rules and there are exceptions. Generally, runners are required to avoid contact. Contact can be legally avoided by slowing down, stopping, going around a fielder or by sliding. If the runner does any of those things, then any resulting contact with the fielder can be ruled as incidental, legal contact.

 

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There is also a fair amount of blocking the base and the runner also has a right to the base. I know that the umpires will typically require them to slide or call them out for not doing so if there is contact, but there are times where sliding wouldn't get you to the base and could also potentially get you hurt trying to do so if the base is block too far up the line.

 

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There is also a fair amount of blocking the base and the runner also has a right to the base. I know that the umpires will typically require them to slide or call them out for not doing so if there is contact, but there are times where sliding wouldn't get you to the base and could also potentially get you hurt trying to do so if the base is block too far up the line.

The runner does not have "a right to the base" (i.e. unimpeded path) if the fielder has the ball. The runner needs to evade the fielder/tag while staying within 3 feet of their base path.

The runner does have the right to not be impeded on their path to the base if the fielder does not have the ball - it is obstruction if the fielder impedes the progress of the runner without the ball. This does not entitle the runner to crash into the fielder because contact is not required for OBS to be called.

Many times the runner doesn't know ahead of time whether they will get to the fielder before the ball, so you need to teach them a way to handle it that works for both situations.

 

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Yes, agreed on your definition, probably should have been more specific (E.g. Without the ball). However, to elaborate on this, when the fielder does not have the ball, and the base is obstructed such that a slide can not get you completely to the base, or if you did, your leg would get caught up with the fielder, what is your suggestion? Stop? Slide short of the base? Go around the player? Run into them without malicious intent.

I will tell you in baseball, that at second base the fielder will be taken out with a slide typically (E.g. "Breaking up a double play") whether they have the ball or not, and at home plate there could likely be a collision.

 

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Hook Slide

 

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If the fielder is blocking the base without the ball, the most important thing to do is not slow down as they're running towards the fielder/base because they're giving more time for the ball to get there and they're unlikely to get OBS for that alone. A late, pronounced slowing and/or change of direction are more likely to draw an OBS call than subtle ones.

Hook and backdoor slides are the most common ways to get past a fielder blocking a base, with or without the ball. If the fielder is blocking all avenues up the line, the runner should attempt to go around them.

As for baseball, ease up on the testosterone. All the different rule sets my son played prior to HS had slide / avoid contact rules. I know HS baseball modified their OBS rule 3 years ago to require fielders without the ball leave a path to the base and made a point to enforce it. There were plenty of collisions via sliding, but the runners that crashed into a fielder were usually ejected.

 

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If there is a fielder standing on the bag or at the corner of the bag and there is no play (ie ball in the outfield and my runner is rounding hard thinking of going to the next base) I teach them to make contact (not hard but with an obvious brush by shove) and to yell "obstruction" as they go by. I've had obstruction called several times this way. We practice this so that we are never malicious, just obvious if you get my drift.

 

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I will tell you in baseball, that at second base the fielder will be taken out with a slide typically (E.g. "Breaking up a double play") whether they have the ball or not, and at home plate there could likely be a collision.

And if it is high school baseball (or most amateur codes) ejection is the penalty for creating illegal contact.