I’m looking for some insight into the rundown on Sunday May 6th between Omar Vizquel and Shane Victorino.

From Tuesdays SF Chronicle:
Rundown redux: Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel was correct in suspecting the Phillies’ Shane Victorino purposely collided with him during a rundown Sunday night. The umpires called obstruction on Vizquel, citing a new rule allowing runners to “establish their own baseline,” and Victorino slithered away safely.

“Running into him was my only escape,” he told Philadelphia reporters. “Once I saw him release the ball, I said, ‘I’m going right for him to try to get an interference call.’ Fortunately, I got it.”

In the NY Times article on Monday… it mention that Omar said he was given the “establish their own baseline,” excuse for the obstruction call from the umpire, I thought he was beings sarcastic… seems to be Omar’s kind of humor… but haven’t been able to find any concrete info on the rule.

Please Help

In Soviet Russia, baseline establishes you!

No thoughts about this?  Did anyone see it…. Victorino ran into Omar in the grass.

It’s not a new rule, it’s just the rule.  Runners establish their own baselines.

7.08
Any runner is out when—
(a) (1) He runs more than three feet away from his baseline to avoid being tagged unless his action is to avoid interference with a fielder fielding a batted ball. A runner?s baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely

In other words, runners do “establish their own baseline” in the sense that the baseline moves with the runner.  Let’s say you round first at full speed and your momentum carries you onto the short right field grass.  You look up and the second baseman is standing between you and second base.  If you run back to the basepath between first and second to avoid the tag, you can be called out; you are supposed to run straight toward second base from wherever you are.

However, if you are on the basepath between first and second and you run three feet off it in order to charge into a shortstop who is involved in running you down, you should be out both for leaving your baseline and out for interference, for good measure.

Thank You!