maven

You've already reported the call: "Infield fly if fair!" So, I'm gathering that the ball landed on foul ground between HP and 1B and then rolled fair, resulting in a fair ball. Call already made. At lower levels you might have an inexperienced OC come out to quibble about this call. Tell them that IFF protects the offense, and then ask, "don't you prefer the one out to the cheap double play, coach?"

No run can score if the BR makes the 3rd out before legally acquiring 1B. It's the same reason the run doesn't score in the OP, just takes a little longer.

I don't do LL, but I do know that, in baseball, all arms are 3 feet long and all lines are straight!

Two points: 1. Mechanically, you don't want to signal safe, because R3 wasn't. He touched the plate after the half inning ended. If you want to announce that no run scored, that's good communication. 2. Process your options ahead of the pitch. Did you think about what might have happened on D3K there?

Gonna need a few more bags of diamond dry....

The protected fielder is entitled to the benefit of any doubt and then some regarding whether he has a reasonable chance to field the ball.

Agree with Rich.

This is the part of your reasoning that I reject. I'm awarding the base that nullifies the OBS. I don't care where the other runners are or what they've done (they're not protected, of course, so in that sense I care, but irrelevant here). BR cannot be put out at 2B, because he's protected to there. Once he's tagged there (if that's what happens), I'll kill it, award him 2B, and bump R2 to 3B.

The rabbit times the interval between half innings.

If he didn't, the gremlins bumped his brim down!

The penalty for type B requires that the umpire speculate on the outcome without the obstruction. That is the penalty. Hindering the runner's progress to a base that doesn't protect him doesn't hurt that runner, therefore (again, assuming B) the award necessary to nullify obstruction is nothing. You just have to fix whatever obstruction broke. I don't follow your reasoning. BR gets 2B on this play without the OBS. To nullify the OBS, award 2B. Nothing else is relevant to determining the award.

This used to be the rule. I'm fairly old school and usually use this rule. With a read step I can usually get an angle on that foot. A new mechanic permits BU to check with PU first (only for certain questions, and only when PU is in a position to help), then make a call. Pre-game with your partner. In the OP, the second BU was incorrect to wait for the defense to ask his partner. It's his call, the defense should not be going to his partner at all.

Still, this can be incidental. Can you provide an example of incidental contact between a runner and a protected fielder? When I explain these INT calls to coaches, I use the expression "absolute right of way." As far as I can imagine prior to some coffee, runner contact with a protected fielder is always INT, and never incidental.

Matt is correct, Type B if BR is not played on at the time of OBS. Keep it simple: once BR is tagged, call time, award BR 2B on the OBS, advance R1 to 3B on the award to BR. I do not accept the reasoning that starts by saying the offense would have 2 runners on 2B and someone out. That's giving the defense the benefit of the doubt after they have commited an infraction. Penalize the infraction. The penalty awards bases to the obstructed runner to nullify the obstruction. Don't suspend that penalty because someone else fell down.

Often this is an easy call to make. If the fielder with the ball is between the runner and his base and attempting a tag, if the runner goes wider than the fielder's arm then you have an out (his arm is about 3 feet long). This kind of case is the garden variety application of this provision. If a fielder is chasing a runner, then it can be harder to judge, and it sounds as if this is your sitch. Two things to bear in mind here: (1) the runner may legally run wherever he wants prior to the tag attempt (he can start avoiding F6 before F6 has the ball), and (2) you must have a bona fide tag attempt in order to invoke this rule. The fielder merely running toward the runner is not in itself a tag attempt (your judgment). It sounds as if you let it go because you judged there was no tag attempt. I can imagine that: F6 gets the ball on the edge of the grass, starts to run to intercept R2 but realizes he won't catch him, so throws to 1B. That's not a tag attempt until he's in the runner's vicinity, so the basepath provision does not apply. If that's what happened, I'd say you nailed it!

Tough call. One thing we teach is to slow down making a foul ball call. Since a foul ball is dead and nothing can happen, there's absolutely no reason to rush it. Take your time to be sure what you've got, since there's no unringing the bell. Assuming the coach was correct, an extra moment might have allowed your brain to process that sound and identify it as ball & leather, not ball and (any part of the) bat.

I hear what others are saying about letting PU ask BU for help. In general, that's probably right, and for the reasons stated. In at least 2 situations, however, I would go to him if I were BU: (1) he's newer and might not know how to handle the situation, or (2) everyone in the ballpark except him knows he missed it, and getting the call right leaves me no choice but to go to him.

Wait for the end of playing action, call time, and tell your partner what you saw (away from everyone). Live with what he chooses to do. BI is not the BU's call.

noumpere, are you suggesting that F3 cannot receive protection when fielding a fly ball?

Fair/foul would not determine who is out (R1 is doing the interfering), but it could change how I rule INT. If fair, then I will need to judge whether F3 is the protected fielder. If so, INT, otherwise, nothing (play on). If foul, then I will need to judge whether F3 has a play on the ball. If so, INT, otherwise, nothing (foul ball).

No, he was not out anyway. The ball is dead on the FPSR violation: there was NO PLAY at 1B, so nothing to call. Once you call INT/FPSR, it's just a dead ball flying around the infield. I take it that this was JM's point.

Would it be a sidebar to recommend laser eye surgery? I had it 6 years ago and wish I had done it sooner.

We had a play a little like this in my game last night. R1, bunt. F1 fields, throws to F4, late, but R1 goes in standing and comes off the bag slightly on the other side. My partner signals safe on the force and then bangs the out. Coach was all over ... his runner, for not sliding!

Nice try but that's only a balk on an IBB. Whoops. Thought the question concerned that kind of "catcher's balk." As you were...

Good call. And the fielder clearly did not "lift" the runner's foot off the base, either. See the whole play.