[Vandelay]

You can't block the plate without the ball otherwise they will call obstruction. That said, very poorly run rundown.

Note that in this case, though, the throw to the plate did beat the runner but the tag did not.  Would that preclude any call of obstruction?  I'm not suggesting that the catcher would have been way out in front of the plate blocking the runner's path.  But even having a catcher near the front of the plate may have been enough of a deterrent to alter the runner's path.

[Vandelay]

You can't block the plate without the ball otherwise they will call obstruction. That said, very poorly run rundown.

Note that in this case, though, the throw to the plate did beat the runner but the tag did not.  Would that preclude any call of obstruction?  I'm not suggesting that the catcher would have been way out in front of the plate blocking the runner's path.  But even having a catcher near the front of the plate may have been enough of a deterrent to alter the runner's path.