A possible rule change meant to reduce home-plate collisions is expected to be one of the many topics addressed at next week’s MLB general manager meetings in Orlando, Florida, reports Buster Olney of ESPN.
MLB to discuss changing home-plate collision rules next week
Catchers getting bowled over by charging runner may soon be a thing of the past.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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It is unclear what the extent of the the discussion will be, but many of team executives appear to be in favor of enacting an immediate change that would adopt the rules used at amateur levels, per Olney’s sources.
A move to amateur rules would essentially ban collisions at home as we now know them, making it illegal for the base-runner to target the catcher as he approaches the plate and forcing the catcher to leave a path for the runner as he comes in. If MLB makes the change, it will naturally also apply to the minor-league levels, so brutal collisions like this will never have to happen again.
While home-plate collisions were long regarded as just "part of the game," the call for their end has built up steam over the past few years. Giants manager Bruce Bochy and Athletics GM Billy Beane were the some of the first prominent figures in the game to publicly call for a rule change in the wake of Buster Posey's horrific ankle injury in early 2011, and have since been joined in the cause by Mike Matheny, Tony LaRussa and several others.
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