Can someone explain catcher blocking plate rule?

[jerichoholicninja]

I remember when the "Buster Posey" rule came into effect it was a real cluster with utterly ridiculous calls of runners being called safe when the ball beat them by 40 feet but the catcher was standing in front of the plate without the ball. It seems to me that this rule has now totally been ignored. I can't even remember the last time I heard it even enforced.

 

Official Baseball Rule 7.13 – Collisions at Home Plate

(1) A runner attempting to score may not deviate from his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate). If, in the judgment of the Umpire, a runner attempting to score initiates contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate) in such a manner, the Umpire shall declare the runner out (even if the player covering home plate loses possession of the ball). In such circumstances, the Umpire shall call the ball dead, and all other base runners shall return to the last base touched at the time of the collision.

 

Rule 7.13 Comment: The failure by the runner to make an effort to touch the plate, the runner’s lowering of the shoulder, or the runner’s pushing through with his hands, elbows or arms, would support a determination that the runner deviated from the pathway in order to initiate contact with the catcher in violation of Rule 7.13. If the runner slides into the plate in an appropriate manner, he shall not be adjudged to have violated Rule 7.13. A slide shall be deemed appropriate, in the case of a feet first slide, if the runner’s buttocks and legs should hit the ground before contact with the catcher. In the case of a head first slide, a runner shall be deemed to have slid appropriately if his body should hit the ground before contact with the catcher.

 

(2) Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the Umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the Umpire shall call or signal the runner safe.

 

Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 7.13 if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in order to field a throw, and the Umpire determines that the catcher could not have fielded the ball without blocking the pathway of the runner and that contact with the runner was unavoidable.

 

The last part is the vague part and unfortunately means there will be zero consistency as to how the rule is enforced and gives the umpire and excuse not to call it. There were two plays on Thursday night that really confused me.

 

The first was Urias getting thrown out at the plate. Watch the video and look at the photo. How was Barnhart not blocking the plate without the ball? I guess he was kind of trying to catch the ball but he did not need to go in the path of the runner to make the catch. Urias has no where to go but take a long looping route to avoid running into him as the catcher's whole body was blocking his path to the plate.

 

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/reds-vs-brewers/2021/07/08/633351#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=633351

 

 

In my mind, he should have been ruled safe because Barnhart was blocking the plate.

 

The other was JT Realmuto stealing home on a double steal. The throw coming back from the SS was actually cut off by the pitcher so he was safe anyway but the catcher never once moved from his position blocking the plate. Had the throw gone through and the call been out I would have been really interested to see the aftermath.

 

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/phillies-vs-cubs/2021/07/08/633397#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=633397

 

 

Collisions at the plate are pretty much nonexistent now so I guess the rule is working in that sense. It seems like that's mainly because baserunners are choosing to just run around a catcher and get tagged out instead of through him.

[DHonks]

I made a big point of this the other day in the game thread and I don’t understand why that was not considered blocking the plate. My understanding is that it’s illegal to camp out in the base path of the runner until you have the ball. It’s meant to promote swipe tags and this positioning here obviously does not.

 

We had another example of this a day or two later in which our runner was clearly out but had no way of getting to the plate as the catcher didn’t have the ball and was completely blocking it..

[stoutdude04]

I was wondering this too, but I just assumed there was some other rule change I hadnt heard about.

[MrTPlush]

Urias play: That isn't blocking the plate...the throw took him into the baseline. You may disagree, but that is exactly how that want that called.

 

Realmuto play: This one is a bit more debatable. However my problem with it is the throw doesn't come through. So we all have zero idea where that ball was going to end up. The way he slid makes me believe he was more concerned about stopping the ball from ending up at the backstop and the runner at first going all the way to third. The other problem is the rule has never really faulted catchers that sort of start blocking the plate right as the ball comes in.

 

The rule works exactly as it should. The catcher collision got reduced to basically zero and no one complains. Runner or the coaches don't complain, perfect. Early on they did call plays similar to the Urias one blocking, but all it caused was confusion/drama. The rule was to reduce collisions at home, not try to dissect blocking at the plate in slow motions for 5 minutes.

 

Take that Isan Diaz play for example. That was arguably the right call by the definition of the book, yet everyone cried about it for a week saying it was dumb to call even if right. That Urias play is the exact same way. If that would have been called blocking the plate it would have been equally as dumb.

[homer]

Here is another angle:

[Fear The Chorizo]

Here is another angle:

 

The other part of this Urias play at the plate is I believe he was trying to score from second on a single...which means there's no way his preferred baseline is right along the chalk line between 3rd and home since he rounded 3rd and his straightest route to home would've been shifted further into foul territory (as that 1st image shows Urias lined up with the 3rd base coaching box angling toward home). The catcher actually straddling or being mostly on the field side of the chalk is perfect positioning by him on that play. You could see Urias starting to shift his body to attempt a slide around the catcher because he saw he was about to be dead meat with a decent throw.

 

The catcher collision rule has been one of the few good rule changes to the game recently after some of the initial confusion with it, IMO.