Erstad - Estrada Collision at the plate

[DG]

Originally posted by CoachJM
Just saw the replay of this on Sportscenter when they were showing highlights of the Braves/Angels game.

Can anyone help me understand why this is a legal play by Erstad, even in MLB?

This one strikes me as a different animal that the famous Rose - Fosse collision because in this case, Erstad left his path to home and clearly intended to take out Estrada rather than reach home plate.

If A-Rod gets called out for slapping the ball out of an F3's hand on a tag attempt, why is this not ruled offensive interference?

Thanks.

JM

It's legal because there is no rule against malicious contact in MLB. I see no difference between this play and the Rose/Fosse play, in that the intent of the runner was malicious, no attempt to reach the base, but only to injure the catcher.