“We’ve gone way too far to protect catchers” – MLB analyst believes league’s blocking rules have put baserunners at risk of injury

MLB was quite different a handful of years ago. Baserunners could slide late to break up double plays at second base, and fielders, including catchers, could do their best to block the plate.

Now, things are a bit different. After former San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey had his fibula fractured at a play at the plate in 2011, the league decided to change up the rules.

With the rule change, baserunners can no longer run directly into the catcher, or any player covering the plate. While these rules are meant to make the game safer, MLB analyst Trevor Plouffe believes the rules hurt baserunners.

"I think on the whole rule, we have gone way too far to protect catchers. They have all the ability in the world to hurt a runner," - said Plouffe.

Catchers are supposed to give the runners a lane, but it is a judgment call for the umpires, and there is no standard on how big of a lane catchers must give. They are also protected by gear, so many catchers have no problem squeezing the lane and taking a bump.

"I mean the catchers, with all that gear now, they give you a lane, it's this big, and then they can just drop the knee with all this gear on and block you as soon as they have the ball. What are you supposed to do as a runner?," - said Plouffe.

Plouffe believes the baserunners have gotten the short end of the stick here. There is not much they can do with the new rules, but find a lane and hope the bag is not blocked by the time they get there.

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For first, second, and third base, infielders are no longer allowed to block the bag. This is a new obstruction rule the league had introduced this season to help keep the baserunners safe. This is a rule Plouffe believes should transition to home plate as well.

"All the other bases you have to completely give up the base, you can't block it. With home plate, it's just a lane still" - said Plouffe.

He is not the only person that has echoed these thoughts. Many have called on the league to look into the rule. It will be interesting to see if MLB revisits this rule at some point.