New Home Plate Collision Rule

Not unlike the 'Brady Rule' In football, not being able to hit the
catcher can be called the 'Buster Posey' rule. 

Major League Baseball has come out with the trial version of a rule that prohibits catchers from blocking the plate and prevents runner's from blind siding catchers who are in the base paths. This world will be adopted for the 2014 season on a trial basis and most likely will be tweaked on a case by case basis. The way the ruling is currently worded leaves for it a lot of gray area and interpretation by all parties involved. Depending on the circumstances catchers may or may not block home plate, that runners may or may not be allowed to make contact with the catcher depending on if he has the ball are not, it is up to the umpires personal discretion on how he wants to interpret the rule and if a player is safe but makes questionable contact with a catcher is now out and visa verse.

Home plate is the only base where contact is allowed to be made. A second baseman and shortstop or third baseman cannot block the bag with their leg or body. Why isn't so different at home plate?  Is it because it's a scoring play? Is it because that's the way it's always been?  If the latter is the case that is a pretty weak argument. If a third baseman can put his glove down in front of the base to tag an oncoming runner, one would think that a catcher would be able to have that same skill set to catch a ball and put his glove on the ground. If baseball in so concerned about players being injured on collisions of home plate why not just completely eliminate that option?

Not unlike hockey and the touch vs. no touch icing rule, if it is a matter of player safety then there should be little debate. To a eliminate a play that has little impact on the game itself and protects players from being injured should be a no brainier.

Other than blood lust from archaic fans, runner-catcher collisions serve no real purpose. Not unlike hockey fights there's no real reason. Why have this in the game at all?  Especially in a game that where there is no physical contact having just one particular play that allows for a player to blow up, not an unsuspecting player, but a player in a vulnerable position. Sure catchers wear all sorts of protective equipment, but wearing shin pads will not prevent you from having your leg broken like Buster Posey or Buck Martinez.

Umpires have a hard enough job calling the game properly with the rules they already have in place. Making a new rule with this much room for interpretation and ambiguity, adds personal judgment and the possibility of human error is nothing short of silliness. Based on that you know this must be one of Bud Selig's brainstorms, Putting yet another rule in place that has that much gray area will put even more unnecessary scrutiny on these umpires. The one saving grace is that this season they will have the ability to use instant replay to aid in their calls. That part is very important, too aid in the call.  We have all seen other sports, and even last year on home run calls where the replay will blatantly show something happening and the official will still either refuse to reverse a call more choose not to change a call (sometimes this could be under protest of the system other times it could be out of arrogance or stubbornness). The less guesswork we give these umpires the better.

Is That Stevie Wonder At Third?

I understand that there is a lot of pressure being an official both at the amateur and professional level. There are always calls that are a matter of interpretation or differ from the angle and position that the individual is in at the time of the play. I know that in pretty much all professional sports the percentage of the call that are made correctly far outweigh those of the ones that are missed. As is the case in most any situation, people don’t comment on plays that go well only those that are missed or messed up. There was a call where the "phantom" double play called the runner safe because the defender was not on the bag...that call is never made, but it was here. Then Mark Teixeira’s foot may or may not have come slightly off the bag and that is now a huge issue "He’s off the bag" Guess each base has its own standards and I suppose double standard. Guess that a game of inches only applies in certain circumstances.

That being said the umpiring in this years baseball playoffs seem to have too many of these oversights. Sure an umpire, not unlike a player can have a bad night and that is what seems to have happened a few times already this post season. First there was just a pitiful call made by Phil Cuzzi on a Joe Mauer flare down the line in the ALDS where a ball that was so fair that you could have landed a plane in the area between the balls landing area and the foul line. What makes that a little worse is that the umpire that made that call would not usually be there during the regular season. In the Playoffs they add the 2 extra umps down the lines for just that reason, it is likely that ball would have been called right had it just been the normal 4 man crew.

Then there was Tuesday nights gong show of calls. There were 3 calls that were made that were either incorrect or highly questionable. In a span of 11 batters, umpires Dale Scott and Tim McClelland blew three calls so badly that you have to wonder what is going on. Scott called Nick Swisher safe on a pick off play at second base in which he was tagged on the hand. Next was McClelland who took a run off the board when he called Swisher out on appeal for leaving third base early on a sac fly to center field. He was behind Swisher looking to the outfield and in no position to make the appeal call. Lastly McClelland somehow called Robinson Cano safe after he was tagged when he was standing still, two feet off third base. Looking at the picture (which says 1000 words or perhaps beyond). These were not cases where you had to run replays several times from several angles to figure out the proper call.

They use replays to determine home runs but that is all. I don’t want replay to take over baseball, and it is, of all the sports the one need the human touch to be true to itself. Ball and strikes should not be subject to change but maybe some calls that are more black and white should be subject a second look. With high-definition cameras, super-slow motion replays and other technological advances of broadcasts maybe some calls should be reviewable. I’m not a fan of more instant replay because the more you allow, the more cumbersome it gets but these were blatantly awful calls and not an issue where replay should have even been needed. It is just good that it did not impact the outcome of the game, but the thought that it could be is the big issue.

Here is a short list of other blown calls this post season:
1. Brandon Ing being hit by a pitch on his jersey
2.Kevin Youkilis tagging out Howie Kendrick at first base
3. At least 3 check swings that aren't even close
4. Ronnie Belliard being called safe on a stolen base