Is It Time for Major League Baseball to Permanently Ban Home-Plate Collisions?

Protecting home plate from an oncoming baserunner is accepted as part of the game for a catcher in baseball. Prevent that run from scoring.

Barreling into a catcher—running through him—to prevent him from receiving or holding onto the ball and making a tag is also accepted as part of the game for a baserunner. Do whatever is necessary to score that run. 

But should it be that way? Do these sorts of violent collisions at home plate need to be a part of the game, or should they be legislated out of regular play? These sorts of questions were asked last year when San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey suffered a broken left leg and torn ligaments in his left ankle after colliding with the Miami Marlins' Scott Cousins last May. 

Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer didn't incur nearly as serious an injury on Sunday when the Milwaukee Brewers' Rickie Weeks ran into him at home plate. But Mauer did have to leave the game with a bruised quadriceps muscle, and his status is day-to-day. How much longer should baseball tolerate such needless injuries to some of its best players when they can be avoided?

I know how some of you readers will respond to this. You'll say raising such an argument is whiny and overly compassionate. Home-plate collisions are part of the game, and to take them out would erase a key factor of toughness from the sport. 

Here's the thing: I don't disagree with you. When I see an impending collision at home plate, I rise from my sofa in anticipation of a major collision. I want to see the big hit. If the baserunner for my team knocks the ball out of the catcher's grip and scores the run, I love it. If my catcher takes the hit, hangs on to the ball and prevents the run from scoring, I'll pump my fist. 

But whether I (or you) love these sorts of plays doesn't mean they should still be a part of the game. Baseball players are bigger and faster than they've ever been. The collisions are as violent—if not more so—than they've ever been. Players need to be protected from injuries that can be prevented. 

Injuries are going to happen in athletic competition, even in so-called non-contact sports like baseball. So what happened to Posey and Mauer could be categorize as freak occurrences that just sometimes take place when the sport is being played at its highest level and players are doing whatever they can to win. 

But let's put broken legs and bruised thighs aside, and talk about a much more serious problem. Don't such collisions increase the risk of concussions, a health issue every sport is now trying its best to control and prevent among its players? 

Last Friday, Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi wrote about the new seven-day disabled list created for player concussions and how it's helped treat a problem that wasn't receiving proper attention among team medical personnel, coaching staffs and players. 

Even though baseball doesn't have nearly the same amount of violent contact that football and hockey do, concussions are an increasing concern in the sport.

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts lost more than a season while recovering from his concussion and related symptoms. Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau hasn't been the same player since suffering a concussion and encountered frequent setbacks in his recovery.

In his article, Morosi also cites Twins outfielder Denard Span and Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana as players who have dealt with concussions and related issues over the past couple of seasons.

So, how can baseball say it's concerned about concussions, yet allow a play that increases the likelihood that players could suffer neurological injuries? No, a concussion isn't guaranteed to happen every time there's a collision between two players at home plate. But why even invite the risk when it can be avoided? And, as we've seen, plenty of other injuries can occur when you allow an irresistible force to collide with an immovable object. 

This isn't going to change unless MLB steps in to help the players from themselves. Teams such as the Giants and Oakland Athletics may now instruct their catchers to avoid contact at home plate, to make a tag without blocking the plate. But most catchers feel it's their job to protect the plate. They've been told to do so since they began playing the position. So, the decision needs to be taken out of their hands. 

Create a rule that prohibits catchers from blocking the plate. They have to allow a path for the baserunner. Subsequently, baserunners can't go charging in like missiles, as Weeks did with Mauer, ready to blow a catcher up. Prohibit them from veering out of the path created for them.

Will this prevent collisions entirely? No, such plays happen fast, sometimes too fast for players to react properly, leaving them with nothing to go on but instinct. But that doesn't mean MLB shouldn't at least try to prevent their players—some of whom are the best the sport offers—from getting hurt. 

It's long past time for baseball to do the right thing here. How many more players need to get seriously injured?

Follow @iancass on Twitter.