[Manny A]

From the article:

"Given how quickly sentiment within the sport about collisions is shifting -- particularly as information about concussions has come to light, including the cost of concussion-related lawsuits faced by the National Football League -- some officials talk of change as inevitable and predict that it could come swiftly."

Therein lies the real reason they're looking into this, IMO.

"The team officials who expect the change to occur believe that Major League Baseball will simply adopt the rules on plays at the plate that are used at every level below professional baseball: The baserunner is guaranteed an avenue to the plate and is not allowed to target the catcher."

Well, I don't know of any organization that allows this once the catcher has the ball and is waiting to make a tag. Yes, a catcher is susceptible to an obstruction call if he blocks the plate before he has possession of the ball (or, in some organizations, is in the act of fielding the throw). But once the catcher has that ball, the runner is not guaranteed anything in every organization I'm aware of.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not arguing against change. But use the right arguments. Bottom line: everybody else is on the concussion bandwagon, and MLB wants to join as well.

Oh, and your argument about an unfair advantage of the catcher doesn't mean anything when it's the runner, not the catcher, who initiates the collision. So I'm not sure why you even bother bringing that up. In fact, in most situations I've seen, it's the catcher who ends up bearing the brunt of the crash since he's standing still and, in some cases, not in a ready position to take on the runner. More often than not, it's the catcher who ends up banging his head against the ground or having his leg caught awkwardly underneath (re: Posey). No amount of gear is going to help him then. Most runners, meanwhile, end up just bruising their forearms when they crash into the catcher.

That's why most catchers are now setting up in front of the plate, and then swipe-tagging runners, as opposed to completely blocking access with their bodies.