OldSoulon
Well-known member
I thought the old rule was you had to have the ball to block the plate.I haven't seen a video of the Padres' play, but I've seen a photo. Looks like the catcher may have blocked the plate while ALSO possessing the ball. That's permitted. What's not permitted (under the revised rule) is blocking the plate WITHOUT the ball.
I watched Hedges' play from several days ago. It's certainly "textbook" what I was taught when I played catcher. However, he IS blocking the plate WITHOUT the ball and the runner IS being denied access to the plate. Seems to me that the rule needs to be sent to some lawyers to nuance and rewrite it.
Because if not, you could fake taking a throw, and cause injury to the runner.
With the new rule, I think you have to give the runner a path to the plate, which the Padres catcher did not do at all.
Watch the replay if you can, let me know what you think.