Baseball Needs To Bring Back Home Plate Collisions Because The Current Blocking The Plate Rule Is An Abomination

Ezra Shaw. Getty Images.

Last night in the Padres Giants game Fernando Tatis Jr. uncorked a rifle of a throw home to nab the runner trying to score. The great throw ended the inning and kept San Diego within one. As the broadcast returned from commercial break the umpires had the headsets on and were reviewing the previous play. This took a long time and when that's the case you get the idea something fishy is afoot. MLB HQ in New York went onto rule that Gary Sanchez committed a violation and blocked home plate illegally. The run counted, the inning continued and before you knew it the Giants had extended their lead to four. 

Bob Melvin naturally lost his mind on the umps even though they weren't the ones who made the overturn. They're simply messengers, but when your team gets boned like that you need to let someone have it. Would be great if the umps handed him the headset so he can go off on New York. 

After the game both managers gave their thoughts on the play. As you can expect, they were both in sync with their evaluations. 

By the letter of the law I suppose Gary was in violation based on where he originally set up for the throw. Here's the rule for the runner and catcher per MLB

There needs to be some level of common sense with these plays. Tatis' throw beat the runner by a mile and he was dead to rights. In no way should the Giants be rewarded for this shit. It even says at the bottom of the rule that the runner may still be ruled out if the throw clearly beats him. Unfortunately that's not clear enough I guess. 

The same thing happened a few days ago with Jonah Heim of the Texas Rangers. I genuinely don't know what these catchers are supposed to do. 

The rule is terrible and the replay people back in NY are incapable of applying any sort of logic, rhyme, or reason to the situation. 

I know baseball got super protective when Scott Cousins attempted murder on Buster Posey a little over a decade ago, but man did that begin the softening of the sport when it came to plays at the plate. 

Home plate collisions were the absolute best. I mean Pudge hanging on in the playoffs to win a playoff series is an iconic moment in the sport. 

I'm willing to bet if you ask catchers today they'll say they wish this was still part of the game. Sure it was dangerous, but the sense of pride they'd gain after winning one of those battles was unmatched. Now we've got catchers who have to worry where they are even if the incoming throw leads them towards "blocking the plate." That should not be part of the game. Obviously with the emphasis on concussion safety and all that we're never getting these plays back, but as consolation figure out a way for catchers to make simple plays like the ones Sanchez and Heim were trying this week.