No More Train Wrecks?

Shane Victorino and Brian McCann - Photo Courtesy of AJC.com

Maybe I missed something here.

I know this has been a debate that has probably been going on longer than I've been living, but the collision at home plate is part of what makes baseball the sport that folks have grown to love. The famous All-Star Game collision between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse is one that students of the game will always point back to and say, "This is what makes the game dangerous."

This just in: The game has always been dangerous. You put a wooden club in a man's hands and have him violently swing said club at just about the same speed the ball is approaching him at. So, a ball speeding toward a batter at 90+ miles per hour and a man swinging a bat at the same speed don't make the game dangerous...even if the bat slips out of the batter's hands or breaks, even if the ball hits the player near the orbital bone or in the temple, or even if the ball is batted back to a pitcher who is unable to protect his head or any other part of himself from the ball which actually has an exit speed greater than the speed of the initial pitch.

That doesn't make the game dangerous. We only want to protect the catchers.

Buster Posey broke his leg in this collision with Scott Cousins

I don't want you to feel like I'm upset over the possible ruling to protect the catcher. I think they need to be protected, but I also think the rest of the players need to be protected as well. A collision at home plate happens about as often as a line drive off a pitcher's head. Granted, it happened a lot last year. But that's a rarity. All I'm asking for is precautions across the board. If you're going to protect the catcher, protect the pitchers as well. While you're at it, protect the fans from randomly flung bats that make their way into the stands and (strangely enough) find their way to an elderly patron who wanted a closer look at the game.

I like the rule, but I want to know what Major League Baseball is doing to ensure the safety of ALL players. If you're going to pay them to play a sport that has the element of having a career ending moment like a severely broken leg, they make sure everybody is safe. Leave no stone unturned.