Quote:
Originally Posted by bluehair
It seems that you will have to require fielders (especially F2s) to provide access to the base if they don't possess the ball. Currently, F2s get away with the "in the act of fielding a throw" exemption from obstruction. That would need to go away and make it like Fed's less than perfect "allow access if you don't have the ball yet" requirement. This would partially take away a runner's justification to way-lay F2.
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That really doesn't matter. The vast majority of these collisions in MLB happen after the catcher has the ball, not before. We hardly ever see a runner waylay a defenseless catcher as he's waiting for the throw to come in.
And it's rare that a catcher will put himself in harm's way by blocking access to the plate with his entire body. Normally, he blocks the plate with his leg as the throw comes in, forcing the runner to hookslide and touch the plate as he goes past it. Only when the catcher has possession of the ball will he turn the rest of his body into the baseline.
And if you watch again the play where David Ross ran into Alex Avila in the ALCS, you'll see that Avila received the throw from Omar Infante while he was standing in front of home plate (0:28 mark of video). He then turned to face (and brace) for the incoming Ross. Avila never really blocked full access to the plate, and Ross actually moved toward the front of the plate to crash into Avila. The crash was legal in that Ross was still close enough to touch home.
So if there's going to be a rule change, it should be one that addresses the action of the runner, not the fielder.
Red Sox Catcher David Ross on Both Ends of Ugly Collisions in ALCS Game 5 | Bleacher Report