Malicious contact?

[soundedlikeastrike]

I also have MC.

I see no attempt to "avoid contact" by the runner.
Looked like a bowl over attempt, though the runner looks undecided, looks like he thought slide, then changed his mind.

Would be interesting to see the rational of overturning this?

Looked like blue was right on top of it, made the out call, then right away the ejection, looked perfect to me...

[DG]

Originally Posted by soundedlikeastrike

I also have MC.

I see no attempt to "avoid contact" by the runner.
Looked like a bowl over attempt, though the runner looks undecided, looks like he thought slide, then changed his mind.

He does not have to avoid contact. He just needs to be making an attemp to to reach the base.

A.R. 1—If the fielder blocks the path of the base runner to the base (plate), the runner may make contact, slide into, or collide with a fielder as long as the runner is making a legitimate attempt to reach the base or plate.

[tballump]

I agree with SLS that it looked like he started to slide right at the top of the cutout right after the the pitchers foot is dragged out of the way but then it also would have been a Charlie Brown slide as you look at the first baseman who is right where the 3rd baseline connects with the batters box about "3 feet" in front of the plate. The runner had no chance at a completely blocked off plate, plus the first baseman lowered his left shoulder into the runner to brace for the contact just like a catcher is taught to.

This makes DG's comment and A.R. 1 look like what is happening. When did the runner cross over into A.R. 2 territory when A.R. 1 says runner may make contact or collide. Would a diving collision like Pete Rose's into Ray Fosse be considered as making legitimate collision attempt to reach the base or plate since Pete was diving?

What types of collision plays would be considered legitimate on a plate that is completely blocked off 3 feet up the third baseline. The first baseman did not even give the runner the back half of the plate to try for. So, once again lets have some examples of legal contact "collision" plays that are "not slide into" plays, and that would not be considered malicious.

[bossman72]

I have MC here - the catcher got trucked. You can't "go for the plate" THROUGH the catcher, as the runner did (actually, it was F3 covering).

Aside from the contact, we're forgetting the bullet point #1 - "Was the contact avoidable?" The contact here was definitely avoidable and running over F3 was totally unnecessary.