To Block Or Not To Block?

In the last post I highlighted the Buster Posey injury early last season. Here's the video:

It seems that every year a catcher gets injured in a collision at the plate. Posey's injury sparked a debate over what should be done about these sometimes season changing crashes. Despite the obvious risk involved, many are convinced that no changes need to be made. Even football, our most brutal sport, is cracking down on hits likely to cause injury. Here is a video put together by the NFL specifying illegal hits, most of which are more mild than when Scott Cousins launched himself into Buster Posey.

Following the injury, multiple team and general managers advised their catchers to avoid these collisions. But how can you convince a highly competitive athlete to just step out of the way and allow the opponent to score when their entire career they've had it drilled into them that they are the last line of defense? Posey himself had been warned in his rookie year to stay out of the base path and let the runner score if he must, just one year later, heeding that advice would have saved his season. But, the order to avoid plate-blocking gets overwhelmed by instinct as the catcher tries to help his team win.

It's likely the only way catchers can be protected is if the rules are changed. Fat chance of that happening in Major League Baseball, which is notoriously stubborn when it comes to changing rules. The argument is that home plate collisions have always been a part of the game and banning them would get rid of one of the most exciting plays in baseball. But is it really worth the risk of season or career ending injuries to see one exciting play? For the Giants in 2011, one exciting play turned their season around and essentially ended the possibility of countless more exciting plays in the playoffs.

Yes, home plate collisions have always been a part of the game. But at one time, collisions throughout the diamond were common. Rules were changed to prevent our national pastime from becoming a contact sport. Why not treat home plate like any other base? Force the runner to slide if a close play is likely and make the catcher provide a clear path to the plate. Baseball should take a page from football's playbook, the excitement of one play and possibly changing the outcome of the game isn't worth ruining a season, or possibly a life.