San Francisco Giants’ catcher
Buster Posey and his fractured leg might be the cause of discussion about
MLB’s new collision rule. During a game against the Miami Marlins in 2011, Posey collided with Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins that had him clutching the ground in pain afterward. He was then carried out of the field with one foot unable to touch the ground.
It was announced recently that the MLB will be posing new rules about “malicious collisions” specifically when a player makes a run for the home plate and hits the catcher. This new rule though does not remove collisions but
puts a limit to it. Catchers are no longer allowed to block the plate if they don’t have the ball, and runners will be called if they are seen to deviate from their path to hit a catcher. If a runner violates, he will be out, even if the catcher didn’t get the ball.
When asked to give comments about the new rule Posey said, “What I take away from it is, it eliminates the malicious collision, which is a good thing. When I look at it, I don’t see it as being that drastic of a change. I think the hardest part is going to be for the umpires being able to make a judgment call sometimes on when there is a collision on what the intent of the runner was ... It’s a good rule. We shouldn’t be going out to injure the catcher. We should be going out to score the run.”
I’m Matt Sapaula, a sports blogger and writer based in Miami, Fla. I often follow baseball (my favorite), basketball, football, and (paradoxically) winter sports. Outside sports, I work as a statistician. Follow me on Twitter for more sports updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment