OK, I admit it, I’m prejudice.  It has a lot to do with how you are raised.  It has a lot to do with what your parents thought.  So because of my Dad, I didn’t have much of a chance.  My Dad was a catcher.  My older brother was a catcher and, of course, I was a catcher.  I still believe that being a catcher is one of the most important positions on the field.

So, I look at these collisions at home plate and I scratch my head.  Other sports like football and hockey are making heroic efforts to protect their players against concussions.  A player in a helpless position is entitled to protection.  You can’t use a wide receiver who had just missed a pass as a tackling dummy.  If a player takes a cheap shot, it’s 15 yards, an automatic first down and perhaps, an ejection from the game.  Ejections seem to get a team’s attention.  But, exploding into a catcher, that seems to be “good old fashion hard ball.”

Now I’m a reasonably smart guy and before I started this article, I decided to research the rules of baseball.  I wanted to find out what it said on collisions at home plate.  I studied all the rules, particulary  concentrating on “interference” and  “obstruction.”  I couldn’t find anything that specifically addressed the crash.  I found out what the rule was if the catcher pushes the batter out of the way on a squeeze play or if he grabs the bat, but nothing on the runner throwing an elbow into the catcher’s chin.

My Dad taught me how to catch and how to tag a runner out at home plate (Dad played professional baseball for a number of years).  The tag out procedure works great if you have time.  You catch the ball, transfer it to your right fist and if the runner trys to run you down, you step out of the way and tag him with the mitt and the fisted ball.  Balls pop out of mitts, but not out of fists.  Always be to the front of the plate (the ball will get to you faster).

It is obstruction if the catcher blocks the plate without the ball and is not “in the act of fielding the ball.”  “In the act of fielding the ball” is not defined.  I guess if the ball is on the way and the catcher is reaching out for it, he is in the act.  In the 1970 All Star game, catcher Ray Fosse was standing next to home plate and Pete Rose ran him over and dislocated his shoulder.  Fosse did not have the ball and didn’t seem to me to be “in the act of fielding the ball.”  He also seemed defenseless.  Rose clearly could have gotten into home plate without clobbering Fosse.  If Fosse had hit Rose it would have been obstruction and Rose would have been awarded home plate.  But, this is a swinging door that only swings in one direction.

If the catcher has the ball and has placed himself in such a position that there is no place for the runner to go, I can understand the collision.  Sliding into a shin guard won’t get you there.  An impact intended to jar the ball loose seems appropriate.  But not a forearm to the side of the head.

Assuming there is one young future catcher out there reading this, please stay on your feet when you make the tag.  You can maneuver much better from your feet and if you have to dive to make the tag, you can cover more distance from your feet.  Plus, your chance of getting you leg broken is much less.  I’ve looked at Giant catcher, Buster Posey, on his knees just before the collision that broke his lower left leg.  If he hadn’t been on his knees, he would have been OK.  I think the runner, Scott Cousins, could have slid around Posey, but under the present rules, there’s no requirement.  I love to say “good old fashion hard ball.”

Did I have collisions at the plate?  Of course.  I weighed 150 pounds and never got hurt.  Good old fashion hard ball doesn’t require you to be stupid.  My favorite play is the decoy.  You stand at home plate looking like there is no play at all.  Hand and glove are by your sides and you look annoyed.  Then, just as the ball arrives you spring into action.  You snatch the ball and pop the tag on the unsuspecting runner, who never even thought of sliding.

So what do I propose?  My suggestion is very limited.  First, I live in fear that someone out there who knows the rules is going to shoot me down by telling me what I am proposing is already covered.  If that happens, at least we will all be enlightened.  I suggest that something be added to the rules to protect the catcher’s head.  No shoulders or forearms to the head.  That would, at least, be a start.

Requiring the catcher to show part of the plate to the runner and for the runner to go for that part of the plate would be great, but I suspect too much to ask.  After all, we are talking about good old fashion hard ball.

Written be PJ Rice on www.ricequips.com