You nailed it. I've always thought it was a stupid play; especially when Catchers block before they've got the ball.
This is the problem; not collisions in general.
Blocking the plate without the ball, or before making a play on the ball, is obstruction. If MLB wants to get rid of collisions at the plate, they should enforce the obstruction call.
If they REALLY want to end collisions, plowing into the catcher shoulder-first should be considered malicious contact and be an automatic ejection, but then you run the risk of penalizing the offense for a defensive penalty. Catcher just stands there, gets an obstruction call, run scores, and the runner gets ejected.
Per the Official Baseball Rules (OBR): NOTE: The catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.
This would do nothing but lead to even more injuries (though, they would be to the runner, not the catcher) due to runners having to slide late or awkwardly make a lateral move.
As a former catcher, I am very much
AGAINST penalizing/outlawing collisions at the plate. If you are scared of the contact or injury, don't wear the gear. If you want to catch, learn the proper way to handle plays at the plate. Improper technique is the biggest reason for injury to catchers in plays at the plate.
When the ball is hit, the catcher should move in front of the plate, giving the entire baseline/plate to the runner. He should
leave his mask/helmet on. He should be between 12 and 18 inches in front, making any contact whatsoever obviously malicious. When the ball is approaching, and the catcher is
making the catch, he should step up the 3B line with his left foot (toes pointed to 3B to protect knee and ankle ligaments), 12-18 inches in front (up the 3B line) of the plate. That left knee should remain flexed and the glove/ball/right hand and the right knee should move toward the left foot to apply the tag. As the tag is made to the sliding runner, the catcher should continue with his momentum and rotate around (back to the infield) counter-clockwise then step through, towards the field to safely disengage from the runner - and is then in position to make a play/throw.
If the runner isn't going to slide, the preferred situation is to get the ball a little early and have time to move up the 3B line, glove/ball/right hand out in front, in an athletic position, looking like you are preparing for impact. As the runner approaches, allow him to run into your glove, but step away (toward the infield) and spin with the runner, using his momentum to avoid any bodily contact.
If that is not possible, and contact is imminent, the catcher must do his best to get his left foot/leg pointed toward the runner (to protect knee/ankle ligaments), stay on his feet, and loosen/relax his body as the contact occurs, rolling with the impact (like a backward tumbling roll) to lessen the impact.
What the catcher does
NOT want to do:
- Take off his helmet/mask
- 'Man up' and 'win' the collision
- Dive headfirst into the collision (Brian McCann is the worst offender)
- Be on his knees (a la Buster Posey)
- Block the plate before making the catch (it the catch and left foot step should be bang bang)
In my career, I was involved in too many plays at the plate to count. Very few of those involved a true collision (in amateur baseball, it's automatic ejection for the baserunner); but throughout those instances, I was never injured. I was only trucked/blindsided once (I was 11 or 12 and the runner was a significantly bigger 14 or 15). It hurt and I was bloodied and slightly shaken up, but because I followed the method listed above, I was not injured. The only two times I was ever injured in a collision were when I was the runner (once on a throw up the line to 1B, once on an awkward slide into home).
TL;DR - most injuries to catchers from collisions at the plate are avoidable, and are cause by improper technique.
