Inside Pitch: A Club Coach Whose Daughter Was Injured Issues Call to “Get the Obstruction Rule Right!”

Mickey McKee is an Assistant Coach for the Hotshots Premier 16U National – Nelson team that won PGF 16U Premier Nationals on Saturday, July 31, 2021.

He’s also the father of Maddie McKee, a talented shortstop who was an Extra Inning Softball High School All-American this year and was ranked #21 in the 2023 Extra Elite 100 rankings, but wasn’t available to play in the PGF championship game as she had broken her wrist in advance of the Texas team capturing the title.

Coach McKee believes that his daughter was injured because of obstruction in the base paths, writing:

“Maddox fractured her wrist on a play which I believe could have been avoided with more knowledge and a better rule for obstruction by umpires.”

“I wrote a letter asking for people to pay attention to this and help develop change in this rule around softball to avoid future injury to all players, which is what concerns me. I was hoping to gain awareness on this and maybe facilitate change for the safety of all players going forward.” 

Let us know your thoughts on Coach McKee’s opinions below by writing us at [email protected].

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As a coach, a fan and a father of youth baseball and softball players, I am at a loss at the lack of consistency and understanding of the “Obstruction Rule” from the NCAA to travel ball to rec ball.

This lack of understanding occurs with both the umpires and the coaches these days, and I see it becoming more and more of a safety issue for players on both sides of the ball.

At a recent National Championship tournament, I know specifically of two players that suffered severe injuries during games that had to do with players obstructing bases.  Both players are highly recruited softball prospects and one suffered a broken leg and the other suffered a fractured wrist… and, to my knowledge, obstruction was not called on either.

In watching a multitude of games, there were countless plays where players were obstructing “clear path” to the base without the ball and no obstruction was called. Luckily, no injuries happened as a result of those plays.

The common thought process in baseball and softball history has been that you “never slide headfirst into home plate.”

However, unfortunately because of the rule changes to obstruction calls, you can tune in to any Major League baseball game, or even college softball game, and see players sliding headfirst into home.  This phenomenon only started a couple years ago when catchers were prohibited from blocking the plate; however, at the younger levels (with players that are watching college and pro games on TV) the protection of the base runners is not happening due to the lack of understanding of the rules.

Because of the recent changes in obstruction rules in the NCAA and Major League Baseball, players are supposedly not allowed to block a base or home plate without the ball.  When I was playing baseball growing up, a player that was blocking a base would get run over or “spiked” on a regular basis.

This was a self-policing way to handle a base being blocked by any player.  You wouldn’t dare block home plate without the ball, or you would get your head knocked off.  In today’s game, however, a runner will get ejected for running over a catcher or sliding spikes-up into a shortstop who is in the baseline.

I’m not advocating that players be able to run catchers over in today’s game, but I feel like the pendulum has swung the other way and it is causing a safety issue for baserunners.

As a result of these rule changes, defensive players have become very lackadaisical when they are preparing to make a play at a base.  Go watch any travel ball game played at a high level, or even college games, and there are countless examples of players obstructing the base line.  In theory, this is why the NCAA has changed the obstruction rule, but the biggest problem is that umpires are not consistently calling obstruction when applicable.

Coaches at all levels are left scratching their heads at what is obstruction and what is not obstruction.  The common response is that “it is a judgement call.”  This is where the problem occurs.  The NCAA and other sanctions need to clearly identify what is “obstruction.”  The safest way to do this is to write a rule that reads something like this:

“If there is any contact between a baserunner and fielder that impedes a runner reaching their next base, that is with any part of the fielder other than the glove or during an attempt at a tag, then obstruction will be called and the runner will be awarded a safe call, unless the baserunner intentionally initiates contact by deviating from their direct course to the base.”

Concurrently, there needs to be more penalty for a player who is called for obstruction, as just awarding the base as safe, if it is called, doesn’t protect the baserunner from careless fielders.

My recommendation would be that any obstruction called on a fielder should result in a warning, and a second obstruction called on that same player should result in ejection from the game.

This is the only way to begin to hold fielders accountable for dangerous actions and blocking a base.

Lastly, umpires must be trained and understand the rule of obstruction.  I do believe that the rules have been instituted for the safety of all players, and I am all for it, but this is causing unintended consequences and other types of injuries are now occurring as a result of the rule changes.

I beg and plead with the Umpire’s Associations and rules makers from Professional Baseball to the NCAA to youth Travel Ball Sanctions, to address this situation as a serious safety concern to all our beloved young men and women who are competing on the diamond.

— Mickey McKee, Hotshots Fastpitch, Twelve Baseball & a concerned coach and dad