Rule changes have essentially eliminated home plate collisions from Major League Baseball, and Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros reminded us why.
In a 10-10 game in the eighth inning, Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick tried to tag up and score on a fly ball to right. The throw took Angels catcher Jonathan Lucroy up the line, and Marisnick, instead of trying to find a different lane to get to home plate, simply lowered his shoulder and ran Lucroy over.
This was bad. Jake Marisnick vs Jonathan Lucroy pic.twitter.com/DmE7uHC16r
— Brian Perroni (@Perroni247) July 7, 2019
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 7, 2019
Marisnick’s shoulder drilled Lucroy right in the face, and the catcher looked knocked out for a moment. He was visibly bleeding from the face, and his nose appeared to have swelled up as he was ultimately carted off the field.
Lucroy is up and walking but he's getting on a cart and exiting the game. He has a towel over his mouth.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) July 7, 2019
Marisnick, meanwhile, was called out for violating the so-called Buster Posey rule, with the umpires believing that he had a lane to get to the plate without running Lucroy over.
The rule that essentially bans home plate collisions has caused controversy and been criticized by some. Seeing Lucroy in the aftermath of such a scary play is a stark reminder of why the rule exists in the first place.
