The Angels and Mariners played in Seattle on July 23, 2024. In the top of the fifth inning, the Angels had the bases loaded and no outs. Nolan Schanuel was on third, Brandon Drury was on second, and Mickey Moniak was on first. Zach Neto was at bat facing Logan Gilbert. Neto laid down a bunt to the first base side of the pitcher’s mound. The ball was fielded by Gilbert who threw wildly from his knees past catcher Cal Raleigh. Schanuel scored easily. Drury attempted to hustle home from second. After he rounded third base he was obstructed by M’s third baseman Josh Rojas.

Raleigh tossed to Gilbert who covered the plate and tagged Drury before he touched the dish, but plate ump Erich Bacchus protected Drury because of the obstruction. On the play, Moniak advanced to third and Neto to second. 

Ruleball Comments

• Rojas impeded the progress of Drury and was properly called for Type 2 obstruction; under rule 6.01 (h) (2) because at the time Drury was obstructed by Rojas, there was no play being directly made on Drury. The ball was kept alive with no automatic base award.
• Therefore, the umpires (Bacchus-plate ump; and Mike Estabrook, third base ump) pointed to the obstruction but kept the play alive.
• Normally the umpire closest to the obstruction points to the obstruction and yells “That’s obstruction” and keeps the play alive when there is no play being directly made on the runner. But in this situation, Bacchus, the plate ump initially pointed to the obstruction.  Estabrook soon followed.
• When the umpire points but does not call “Time” that signals the Type 2 obstruction, the runner should run hard and not quit on the play if he attempts to advance to the next base because there is no automatic base award. The base coach needs to hurry the runner if the runner is attempting to advance to the next base following the obstruction.
• Because this was a Type 2, the ball was kept alive and there was no guaranteed base award for Drury.  Bacchus determined  the obstruction impacted the outcome of the play and allowed Drury to score.
• When Type 1 obstruction occurs, there is a play being directly made on the runner such as a rundown, the pitcher covering first base on the 3-1 and doesn’t have possession of the ball nor is in the act of receiving a throw, or the illegal blocking of a base including the plate. The ball is dead, and the runner is awarded one base from the last base he touched.
• Bacchus had the right to call Drury out even though he was obstructed. This was a close play, and in my opinion if Bacchus called Drury out, the call could be defended because Drury slowed his run to the plate when he kept pointing at Rojas.
• When a runner is obstructed, he should continue to run hard until “Time” is called.
• It’s important for runners and base coaches to distinguish between the two types of obstruction.

Rich Marazzi

Rules consultant/analyst:  Angels, D’backs, Dodgers, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Rangers, Royals, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Yankees, YES, and NBC Sports Chicago.