With all the attention on instant replay this
spring, another significant rule change is in effect involving plays at the plate which now makes it illegal for a runner to intentionally crash into a catcher
to knock the ball loose; the play that put the “hard" in "hardball." Rule changes, like no-more-fakes-to-third
which was adopted last year, usually start at the big league level and trickle down,
but this is a rare case of the big leagues adopting a rule that’s long
been in place in the amateur leagues for safety’s sake.
I'm summarizing here, but the new rule basically says a runner may not go
out of his way to run into the catcher or if, in the opinion of the umpire, his effort
is more to create contact than touch the plate, he will be out
automatically.
First of all, I personally think it’s
about time this rule has been changed to protect the catchers. Pete
Rose may have cemented his hard-nose image by ending Ray Fosse’s career in the
1970 all-star game, but we’ve also seen one of baseball’s premier players
(Buster Posey) taken out in recent years too, so at what cost do we enjoy these train wrecks? This effort by the runner has never been supported by the rules, plain
and simple. Remember that embarrassing karate chop by Alex Rodriguez in the
2004 ALCS to knock the ball out of Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s hand? How is an attempt to run into the catcher any
different? This is classic interference, but traditionally allowed because of another
more-or-less illegal play that's also been tolerated, blocking the
plate. If any fielder stuck his foot out
to trip a runner, it would be an obvious case of obstruction so why is it okay that a catcher does it an inch in front of the plate? I know - I get it that the basic object of
the game is to score a run so its inherent importance has dictated that all the big boy stuff is cool, but
interference by the runner and obstruction by the catcher are indeed illegal. At the end of
the day, baseball has looked itself in the mirror and accepted that the game is
simply not a showcase for brute force so this rule change attempts to clean up both of these rule-based loose-ends. 
I applaud Joe Torre and the rules
committee for making this change and adopting the “slide or avoid” standard all
us amateurs work with on a regular basis. This sounds easy enough, but "slide or avoid" doesn’t come gift wrapped without its own controversy. It’s just a matter of time before there's a game
changing play at the plate that involves a hard collision that “just happens”
and both managers will expect the call to go their way.
Let me tell you about a game changing play that
happened in a high school playoff game I worked in 2012. The home team (coached
incidentally by Jack McDowell) was trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh
(last inning) and had runners on second and third with one out when the batter
lofted a fly to center, just deep enough for a tag up from third. The
same scenario played out in the previous inning and the runner was gunned out so it was doubly exciting to see the play unfolding again, as an out this
time would end the game.
Nearing the plate, the runner launched himself
with a head first slide, but the throw from center was a few feet up the third
base line, drawing the catcher into the line of the slide. All three moving
objects arrived at the same time: the ball, the runner and the catcher. The
runner’s dive brought him right into the catcher’s chest and the ball was absorbed
by the dust cloud that ensued. It was clear the runner had not reached the
plate, but as the dust settled, everyone could see that the ball was on the
ground. Both players were a little stunned but realized there was still some
baseball to be played, so as the catcher rolled around to pick up the ball, the
runner was reaching over him to find the plate.
Regardless of how it turned out, you could
argue the runner interfered with the catcher’s effort to catch the ball or you
could say the catcher obstructed the runner, blocking him without the ball.
Which one is it? Well, if this were a car crash, the faulty party’s insurance
company would pay as determined by the police report. In baseball, the arbiter
is the umpire and the first thing he has to ask when an “accident” happens is
to figure out who did something wrong. In this case, the
runner slid directly to the plate and the catcher took a step up the line to
field the ball so you can’t really say anybody did anything wrong; the contact
has to be looked at as simply incidental. Had the runner lowered his shoulder
and crashed into the catcher or had the catcher somehow blocked the entire
plate without the ball, there would be rules violations. They both did what
they were supposed to do, so as far as I was concerned, I had nothin’ and it
was just a matter of who would win the scramble at the plate. It turned out the
catcher picked up the ball and tagged the runner a second after he rolled over
and touched the plate. “Safe!” Tie game - home crowd erupts! The home team
eventually won in extras on a walk-off homer so it was a
game I’ll never forget.
The point is that while the new rule is in place to create a safer environment for a defenseless catcher, it doesn't prevent the players from playing the game of baseball - unavoidable collisions will happen. The real story will be the first time a catcher who is blocking the plate is charged with obstruction. The use of replay might be making for a kinder, gentler relationship between managers and umpires, but when that happens, you'll surely see an old fashioned heave-ho!
Jim Tosches is an amateur umpire and blogger in Encinitas, Ca and author of the book, "The Rules Abide: The Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball Rules (With History, Humor and a Few Big Words)"
It's about time they played by the rules! :)
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