Infielders beware: Major League Baseball is planning to seriously crack down on obstruction this season, according to ESPN.
The issue was brought up last offseason, but eventually tabled as MLB prepared to break out other major changes. On Wednesday, the league had a conference call with all 30 managers, letting them know that MLB is telling umpires to be more vigilant and consistent calling obstruction, ESPN reported.
If an infielder is deemed to obstruct a runner's path to the base, then umpires have been instructed to call the runner safe. It'll be judgement call left up to the officials and not reviewable.
By the book, obstruction is when a fielder, who is neither in possession of the ball nor in the act of fielding the ball, prevents a runner's progress to the base. The interest in more seriously regulating this rule stems from the second half of the rule.
The league feels that players are taking advantage of the ambiguity of what constitutes "in the act of fielding."
To be clear, MLB told managers and officials that players may continue to straddle the bag, stand in front or behind it. Infielders may not, however, block the path or go to a knee if it's not in the act of fielding the ball. The league has been gathering information on base running since 2021.
One of the trends the league noticed was the amount of hand and ankle injuries that occurred from obstruction at second and third base. And in the course of collecting this data, MLB frequently heard that Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott and former Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Josh Donaldson were some of the worst offenders.
