For years, fans and players have been expressing their frustration over the ambiguous definition of a catch in the NFL. Interestingly, it seems that a similar problem exists in Major League Baseball regarding blocking the plate.
A recent example occurred during Tuesday’s game between the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox. Catcher Jonah Heim of the Rangers positioned himself to the side of home plate and successfully tagged out Elvis Andrus after receiving a perfect throw from Travis Jankowski. However, the White Sox challenged the call, arguing that Heim had blocked the plate. Surprisingly, the replay review team in New York overturned the call, leading to an ejection for Rangers Manager Bruce Bochy.
This controversial ruling ultimately led to a victory for the White Sox, as they won the game 7-6. The following night, there was another contentious play at the plate during a game between the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants. In this case, Gary Sánchez, the Padres’ catcher, moved into the baseline to catch a throw and applied a tag before the runner reached home plate. Despite following MLB’s rules allowing catchers to move into the line when pursuing the throw, the replay crew in New York determined that Sánchez had also blocked the plate. This decision significantly impacted the game, as the Giants extended their lead from 1-0 to 4-0 and ultimately won 4-2.
Both Bruce Bochy and Padres Manager Bob Melvin were ejected for vehemently arguing against these rulings. Bochy and Melvin, both former major league catchers, were likely outraged due to their experiences playing in an era where blocking the plate was considered a necessary skill.
The change in rules for catchers came in 2014 when collisions at home plate were prohibited following several high-profile injuries, including one to Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants. The new rules apply to both runners approaching the plate and catchers receiving the ball.
While Rule 6.01(i)(2) provides some discretion in determining whether a catcher is obstructing the runner, it is still unclear how these recent plays violated the rule. Heim, for example, set up on the corners and even backed up, allowing Andrus to slide past him cleanly. Heim expressed his perplexity, questioning how one can block the plate from behind it.
Perhaps, if the NFL can solve the catch dilemma, they can turn their attention to resolving this mystery in MLB as well.
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