The issue is back in the news after the league on Wednesday announced it intends to ban such plays by 2015 at the latest. Details of the new rules still need to be sorted out, but the owners are scheduled to vote on the changes at their Jan. 16 meeting. The players' union also would have to approve the changes for the rules to take effect in 2014.
How might those rules work? According to ESPN.com:
1. Catchers will not be allowed to block home plate.
2. Runners will not be permitted to target the catchers.
3. The question of whether or not the plate was blocked or the runner targeted the catcher will be reviewable, with an immediate remedy available to the umpires.
4. Catchers or runners who violate the new rules will be subject to disciplinary action.
The main reason I don't have a strong opinion on this is because I don't perceive injuries on home-plate collisions to be a major problem in the sport. Yes, San Francisco catcher Buster Posey suffered a season-ending leg injury on a such a play in May 2011. It was horrible to watch, and losing Posey ruined the Giants' season. However, Posey returned in 2012 and helped lead San Francisco to its second World Series title in three years.
I'm trying to think of another major injury that has happened recently on a collision at home plate, and I'm drawing a blank. I know the league is concerned about concussions. Former players in football and hockey have sued the NFL and the NHL, respectively, over concussion-related health issues. I'm sure Major League Baseball wants to protect itself from such a lawsuit, and that's probably among the reasons it is moving forward with this change.
If the league and the players decide the change the rules, that's fine. These plays at the plate don't happen all that often -- maybe two or three times per team during a 162-game season.
I'm just interested to see how it's going to work. I don't care that they're taking collisions out of the game. I don't need those to enjoy the sport. But depending on how the rules are written, this is likely going to add some tough judgment calls for umpires. We'll see if they can apply the new rules fairly and consistently, if the changes are approved as expected.
I heard on Mike and Mike in the morning that Hamilton had some shoulder injury that kept him out a while on a collision. Other than that, they couldn't come up with anything either. Seems ridiculous to me. It's part of the game. Block the plate, save a run and possibly the game. yes it's a 162-game season and that one play will not make or break the season but you never know. To me it's stupid. Let them play ball. I'm willing to bet there are more injuries at second base during a double play or pickoff than home plate collisions.
ReplyDeleteAnd to put another aspect of the game in the hands of the umps... when certain guys can barely call balls and strikes is a farce.
There's a handful of catchers who missed time with concussions last year, but I'm wondering if those hockey masks catchers are wearing now might be to blame. Alex Avila from the Tigers was wearing one of those when he got dinged with a foul tip and ended up missing time with concussion symptoms. He's since switched back to one of those old-school steel masks as a result.
ReplyDeleteMy main concerns are, how is the rule going to be written, and how will it be enforced? I can imagine the outrage the first time a team loses a game because its catcher was called for "blocking the plate."
Another thing, if you can't block the plate, what about the other bases? Michael, you bring up an interesting point about second base. There are coaches who teach middle infielders to drop one of their knees down in front of second base to prevent a sliding runner from getting to the bag. Now, that only works if a guy is coming in head-first. If he's coming in spikes first, you're asking for a knee injury by employing that tactic. But, it's the same principle as when a catcher blocks home plate. For consistency's sake, should that be taken out of the game too?