Collisions at the Plate

[Bob Kohm]

Outside of Ray Fosse & Buster Posey, anybody have anything like a list of catchers injured in home plate collsions over the years?

[dannahann]

If you are referencing the ASG collision with Rose I'm not sure Fosse was even injured? Listened to a Rose interview today and he mentioned he himself missed a few games after the collision but Fosse never missed a game and went on to play nine more years. Dumb idea to try and regulate this in any event.

[revo]

Lou Marson got into a collision the first week of April and missed the rest of the season this past year.

[Judge Jude]

If you are referencing the ASG collision with Rose I'm not sure Fosse was even injured? Listened to a Rose interview today and he mentioned he himself missed a few games after the collision but Fosse never missed a game and went on to play nine more years. Dumb idea to try and regulate this in any event.

True about Fosse not missing time, but he has a sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiightly different recollection of things.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Cincinnati-Reds-Pete-Rose-Cleveland-Indians-Ray-Fosse-collision-home-plate-1970-All-Star-Game-070412

Fosse had an .893 OPS at the time of that game, and finished at .830 in his career year. Main issue was loss of power after the collision - 16 HR at the break, only 2 after, and he never hit more than a dozen again after that age 23 season....

[virgonomic]

Buck Martinez's career ended with a collision at the plate.

[Judge Jude]

So did Geena Davis's, thanks to Lori Petty's collision....

[joncarlos]

Francisco Cervelli got nailed during a spring training game, didn't he? By the Rays? And he missed most of the season?

[Vecmizer]

I remember Steve Garvey absolutely cremating Bruce Benedict in the early 80's. He gave him a double ax handle punch to the face and Bruce finally came to about 1992. Shortly there after most catcher started keeping their masks on for plays at the plate.

[Judge Jude]

That dopey ending to the Padres-Rockies playoff game (where I had no rooting interest) a few years back soured me on the whole 'blocking the plate' thing. It's the one where Michael Barrett completely blocked the plate, and the runner (Holliday?) apparently was supposed to have picked up an electric chainsaw from the 3B coach as he rounded 3rd so he could quickly sever Barrett's leg and be credited with a proper run (granted, this approach would be a big ratings boost).

The way things are now is silly, so I'm ok with change...

[Don Quixote]

If you are referencing the ASG collision with Rose I'm not sure Fosse was even injured? Listened to a Rose interview today and he mentioned he himself missed a few games after the collision but Fosse never missed a game and went on to play nine more years. Dumb idea to try and regulate this in any event.

Any recollection by Pete Rose has to include the caveat, "consider the source". Do you need to be reminded that Pete's an admitted liar, and a felon who pleaded guilty to lying to the IRS on his taxes and who served time in the federal pokey? Not to mention how self-serving every one of his recollections is.

Fosse may not have missed much time after the collision, but that was probably because (a) he was young and trying to be 'tough", and (b) neither he, the Indians' medical staff, nor anyone knew how badly he was hurt. As Judge Jude pointed out, he was never the same hitter after the collision.

EDIT TO ADD: Rose's recollection is correct as to his missing time. He didn't play in the Reds' first three games after the All-Star break and appeared in the fourth as a pinch-hitter only, all of which were the first games for the Pirates in their new home, Three Rivers Stadium (to tell you what ancient history this is). He rejoined the lineup after that.

[Hornsby]

While it's not necessarily a bad idea to limit the collisions at home plate, we need to see just what they actually come up with. So far they're just tossing around ideas, nothing has stuck, and is unlikely to change quickly. Look at how slowly MLB is implementing instant replay...

On another note, I hate the fact that 2 of the guys pushing this hardest are the managers with a vested interest in keeping their studs healthy...

[Don Quixote]

It's a tough area to address. How much of it is the catcher, blocking the plate with or without the ball (the former perfectly legal, the latter technically not) or in anticipation of getting the ball (the gray area, such as the Rose/Fosse collision), how much is the runner choosing the collision over sliding or other avoidance?

Sometimes a play that injures the catcher or runner is perfectly legal, such as the one that cost Buster Posey so much time.

Horns--It's like in politics, where the cliché is "It's all a matter of whose ox is being gored". Or like in the NFL, where the coaches and owners with the top quarterbacks are always looking to ease the rules on holding, pass interference, roughing, "defenseless player", etc., to the point where the league's teams are outscoring Madden now.

[chancellor]

Prince Fielder just crushed Todd Greene in 2006 and Eli Whiteside in 2011. I'm not sure anything is more scary than Fielder coming down the line with a full head of steam. I thought Todd Greene was dead.

[Don Quixote]

Prince Fielder just crushed Todd Greene in 2006 and Eli Whiteside in 2011. I'm not sure anything is more scary than Fielder coming down the line with a full head of steam. I thought Todd Greene was dead.

San Diego's Kyle Blanks is a very large guy (6'6", 270), but he can move pretty well, a lot faster than Fielder. At a game here in Cincy in 2011 (I think), he tried to score on a sharply-hit single to center, and all you could hear was a stadium-wide short intake of breath as everyone saw what was coming. There was a great big boom when Blanks hit the catcher (Hanigan?), and a lot of averted eyes. It looked like the only reason he held on to the ball for the out was that it got rammed into his chest.

[madducks]

Prince Fielder just crushed Todd Greene in 2006 and Eli Whiteside in 2011. I'm not sure anything is more scary than Fielder coming down the line with a full head of steam. I thought Todd Greene was dead.

A few years ago when Fielder was with Milwaukee he collided with then Pirates backup catcher Eric Kratz and hit him so hard that he knocked the catchers mask off. Kratz remained standing and held on to the ball while Fielder fell to the ground. I was extremely impressed with Kratz on that play. It's a great video if anyone can find it.