Baseball to ban home plate collisions, Buster Posey injury noted
NBC reports Joe Torre and Sandy Aldersonannounced that the MLB Rules Committee has voted to ban collisions at home plate.
The decision is now subject to approval by the players.
If the players do not approve the rule change it will not go into effect in 2014, but MLB would be able to unilaterally implement it in 2015.
It is expected, however, that the players will approve the change.
The rule has yet to be formally defined or drafted, but the upshot of all of this will be that base runners will be required to slide into home plate, not initiate contact with the catcher.
Catchers will not be able to block home plate. Rather, they must tag runners — and allow runners a path to the plate — just as any other fielder does at any other base.
Players who violate the collision rules will be subject to discipline in all likelihood, though exact sanctions will be determined once the rule is finalized.
“This is, I think, in response to a few issues that have arisen,” Alderson said. “One is just the general occurrence of injuries from these incidents at home plate that affect players, both runners and catchers. And also kind of the general concern about concussions that exists not only in baseball but throughout professional sports and amateur sports today. It’s an emerging issue, and one that we in baseball have to address, as well as other sports.”
The discussion on banning collisions heated up in 2011 when all-star catcher Buster Posey was injured by Florida’s Scott Cousins, sustaining a broken bone in his lower left leg and three torn ligaments in his ankle, injuries that ended his season. (see video below)
I wasn’t sure I would be thrilled with this change, even being a fan of Buster Posey and all. However, it’s not crazy or anything. The responsibility falls on the catcher as well… mirroring rules at other bases makes sense.