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Originally Posted by greymule
When I played American Legion and college baseball in the 1960s, there was no crash rule, no FPSR, no nothing. Runners were expected to break up a double play. Runners coming home tried to dislodge the ball by crashing into the catcher, and the catchers were prepared for it. Know something? Nobody got hurt.
I remember, as a pitcher, covering home on a pitch that got away with a runner on 3B. The catcher retrieved the ball fast enough to throw it to me three steps ahead of the runner. I expected to get hit; the runner did not slow down but went straight into me standing up. I moved a little to the side and tagged him with the ball in the glove and the bare hand squeezing the glove. Crash. Spun around. Out. I didn't get hurt, because I knew what the runner was going to do.
No fight. Nobody yelling about the runner has to slide. The runner went to the dugout and I went back to the mound.
I liked it better in the old days.
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That's right, 40 years ago, we played and played hard. I don't remember too many arguments or fights either. We didn't seem to be that worried about safety but more with winning the game. Also, if the other team was kicking the crap out of us, we weren't whining either - there were no mercy rules! If you lost, you lost and it was
your fault!
I guess that as time went by, the world turned into a bunch of sue happy, "it's not our fault", panty waist sissies!