The only thing I can call this is nonsense on stilts: Posey's injury stirs debate on baseball collisions
Bullshit. There is nothing inherently more dangerous for the catcher at home plate than any other player making a tag at another base. The reason catchers get banged into like they are blocking dummies is because they set themselves in the position to be run over like a blocking dummy. The way the game is officiated encourages this as well. Baseball allows the catcher to block the plate even when they do not have the ball, even though that is technically a no-no.
If you really want to cut down on the collisions you will have to call interference on the catcher EVERY TIME they make a baserunner alter their course when they do not have the ball.
This will never happen. So why are we bothering with this pointless conversation?
Ray Fosse watched the crushing blow to Giants star Buster Posey and wondered why after all these years there are still few rules to protect catchers at the plate.
If there's anybody who knows about collisions, it's Fosse.
He was at the center of one of the most iconic hits in baseball history, when Pete Rose barreled over him to score the winning run in the 1970 All-Star game. Fosse's right shoulder was permanently rearranged, and while he briefly rebounded from the injury, it started a downward slide to a career that was ultimately cut short.
"After Rose hit me in '70, I had two guys that blind-sided me, guys who hit me standing up," said Fosse, who stopped short of asking baseball to rewrite the rule book. "There's never anybody ejected for that."
The clean but cringe-inducing crash between Posey and Florida's Scott Cousins this week has still reignited the decades-old debate over plays at the plate.
Posey, the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year and one of the game's brightest young stars, fractured a bone in his lower left leg and tore three ligaments in his ankle. His season is likely over.
In the past few years, the NFL has cracked down on violent hits and increased fines with an eye on player safety. The league also announced this week a policy of "club accountability" for teams whose players repeatedly are fined for flagrant hits.
Some in baseball are asking for similar action in the wake of Posey's injury. Others argue home plate collisions are as much a part of baseball tradition as peanuts and Cracker Jacks and the seventh-inning stretch.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy, a former catcher who had multiple head injuries in his playing days, called on Major League Baseball to explore ideas to protect players.
"I think we do need to consider changing the rules here a little bit because the catcher is so vulnerable and there's so many who have gotten hurt," Bochy said. "And not just a little bit, had their careers ended or shortened."
Even with advances in technology and improved gear, collisions at the plate still cause lasting injuries.
Bullshit. There is nothing inherently more dangerous for the catcher at home plate than any other player making a tag at another base. The reason catchers get banged into like they are blocking dummies is because they set themselves in the position to be run over like a blocking dummy. The way the game is officiated encourages this as well. Baseball allows the catcher to block the plate even when they do not have the ball, even though that is technically a no-no.
If you really want to cut down on the collisions you will have to call interference on the catcher EVERY TIME they make a baserunner alter their course when they do not have the ball.
This will never happen. So why are we bothering with this pointless conversation?
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