Buster Posey has no enemies. A poster boy for a historic franchise that just escaped the doldrums of World Champion ineptitude, he can do no wrong. Wrong be done to him and he becomes the most talked about injured athlete since Tiger Woods.
Fifteen friends and family members and 40 complete strangers have struck up conversations about Posey's recent tragedy with me in the 6 days since it occurred. My attempts to respond with "Who is Buster Posey?" and avoid another repeat conversation have all been fruitless.
So let's have fun with this, I figure.
Was it a clean hit? I don't care.
Should Posey return as a first baseman? I don't care.
Will baseball institute a "Posey Rule"? I don't...actually, let's roll with this.
The biggest point that has hardly been touched upon in all this is that Posey -- and catchers in general -- can avoid collisions by simply not blocking the plate. Before you go rallying up support for a rule change, at least consider the alternative of teaching your catchers to be soft.
Posey wasn't at fault, but MLB's grinder, tough-nosed mentality is a suspect. Don't get in the runner's way and he won't clean your clock.
(It's at least something to chew on, right?)
Baseball can make a rule change or catchers can change how they defend the plate, but if the game were to shift toward fewer plays at the plate, arguably the most exciting moments in the game, give us something better. Give us something that calls forward the toughest of tough guys in another suspenseful act.
Here's what I propose:
Science is telling us to reconsider, in all sports, staging for unsuspecting athletes to get "Jacked up!". So lets take the most suspect and guilty player on the diamond and rechannel our fascination with high-speed collisions to him.
If a batter attempts to bunt to break up a no-hitter, the pitcher can attempt to tackle him on his way toward first base.
The batter knows it's coming. The pitcher knows it's coming. The fans know it's coming.
Think of the suspense. The highlight reels. Try to keep your mind from exploding.
It can be an unwritten gentleman's rule or baseball can put it on the books.
Think of the career a known felon of a speedster could have just trying to cheat pitchers out of no-hitters. Darren Ford could elude gigantic men for a living and bring back the enthusiasm of the Giants fan base. Think of what Nolan Ryan could have imparted upon, with his gaze alone, suspected bunters.
Consider yourself privy to the conversation I'm going to blindside any unsuspecting sports fan who brings up Posey's injury from here on out. Who knows, maybe word will spread around enough that it gets considered...at least as much as tough-nosed catchers being trained to be softies.
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