Buster Broken

A collision at home plate last night has apparently cost Giants catcher Buster Posey the rest of the season.
Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins tried to score and the crash at the plate broke Posey's left ankle and tore ligaments in his knee. While technically a clean play, I've long lobbied against runners crashing into a stationary catcher when he's fielding a ball.
A runner should slide straight into the plate or slide around it and tag it with his hand. Just barreling over a defenseless catcher can has serious consequences as it did last night for Posey.
When will a catcher get his neck broken due to a forearm from a guy with a head os steam?
Here is what I wrote last April regarding plays at home plate (a mysteriouswalker flashback!)
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Need To Slide
If I were the commissioner of baseball, and I should be (plus I'd work for less than Bud Selig's 18-mil per season. Really, that's what he makes), I would institute a rule change immediately. The rule would protect the catcher.
We see many highlights of plays at home plate where the runner, who will be out by a mile, tries to run over the catcher to dislodge the ball. It's an exciting play for sure but very dangerous. That a catcher, to my knowledge, hasn't had his neck broken is a miracle. With the NFL getting serious about head injuries it's time for some preventative action by baseball. I'm afraid it's going to take a catastrophic injury to a catcher before baseball implements a rules change.
My rule change would be simple. No more barrelling into a catcher when he is attempting to make a tag. The runner has to slide in an effort to score. If the catcher is blocking the plate, a runner still had to slide to try to score. He can slide through the catcher's legs or slide past the catcher and attempt to tag the plate with his hand. Whatever the case is, a runner has to try to score. Any attempt to run over the catcher by nailing him in the head with a forearm blow will be met with immediate ejection and an automatic out.
Also, a catcher can't block the plate until he has possession of the ball. If a catcher sticks his leg out before he has the ball then the runner is automatically safe.
I think these subtle rule changes will avert injuries. You don't see runners going in head high on a tag play on the bases. Why should it be different at home plate? This dangerous play of steamrolling a catcher needs to be taken out of the game.

Then, a week later I wrote this post...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Cheap Shot Tex
Last week, I wrote a post called "The Need To Slide." I took issue with players steamrolling a catcher with the sole intent to dislodge the ball from the catcher by dislodging the head of the catcher. I believe baseball needs to adapt a rule that prohibits players from taking gratuitous cheap shots on a catcher, especially a defenseless one.
That played out on Friday night when Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, 6-3, 225, barrelled into Angels catcher Bobby Wilson. Wilson was in front of the plate on the first base side awaiting the throw from right field. Teixeira, with a full head of steam, had plenty of room to slide. The plate was not blocked. He would have scored easily with a slide or even standing up. But he ran right at Wilson and with both forearms delivered a shot to the unprotected head of Wilson. Wilson suffered a concussion and an ankle injury as he was bent backwards the way humans are not supposed to bend. As bad as it was, it could have been worse for Wilson.
We don't see guys go after the head of an infielder on a play on the bases. So why is it alright for a runner to go straight for the catcher's head?
A runner should be made to slide to try and score. This running full speed into the head of a catcher is a disaster waiting to happen.
Until the rules are altered regarding collisions at home plate, it is open season on backstops.

With Posey's agent, Jeff Berry, calling for some type of reform, maybe this will be the injury to get things in motion and help keep catchers safe from getting destroyed.