Had this at my game Sunday, still trying to figure out if I got it right.
R1 , # of outs don't matter. FED rules
R1 attempts to steal Second. F4 goes to take the throw, but is taken approx. 15 feet to the 1b side of the base, and right into the baseline. He drops to his knees to field the ball, and the runner, instead of running through/aroundF4, hurdles him. I call time, and think over the situation, I know I've seen in the rulebook somewhere about hurdling a fielder. In FED book, it's 8-4-2.b.2. I didn't remember the penalty for it, so I sent the runner back to 1st for hurdling a fielder that wasn't lying on the ground.
I come home, pull out the rulebook, and see that the rule is under the "sliding" section. My 2 questions are this:
1. Was the hurdle legal since it was no where near the vicinity of where the runner would slide into a base?
2. If it was illegal, it says that penalty is runner is out. Do you call out a 10 y.o. when no one has a clear grasp of the rule, and at that age, the players don't have a good grasp on the game?
Thanks!
DL