It was an ugly collision that left Buster Posey with a broken fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle, which will require surgery. Posey will miss the rest of the season in all likelihood, which is a shame for last year’s Rookie of the Year.
In the 11th inning of Wednesday night’s game between the Giants and Marlins, Scott Cousins plowed into Posey at home plate, knocking the Giants’ young star catcher out for a considerable amount of time. It was one run, one game, one play — it seems so small in the big picture of Posey’s career.
In hindsight, Posey said he thought he left a lane for Cousins to score and that the takeout wasn’t completely necessary. But as a former catcher, I can say that sometimes, you think you’re leaving a lane, but you’re really just leaving inches of an opening instead of feet.
The ability for a baserunner to truck a catcher in a play at the plate is one of the most polarizing rules in sports, but Posey seemed to take the middle road following the injury. He was one of the most understanding folks involved in the situation, but did think that the league should take a look at the rules surrounding the play in an effort to protect catchers a little more.
Cousins said he left Posey two voicemail messages the night of the play, and couldn’t sleep knowing what he did. He also said that he really can’t watch replays out of the guilt he feels for ending Posey’s season. Posey’s agent said the rules must be changed, but he is obviously going to take that stance regarding his cash cow.
This is one of the quickest plays in baseball, because the runner has to make a decision in less than a second whether he will slide around the catcher, come in standing up or take the catcher out in an effort to dislodge the ball. Sometimes, the runner makes the wrong call. Sure, it’s easy to say at this point that Cousins maybe didn’t have to seek out Posey on that play, but in the 11th inning of a road game where you’re the go-ahead run, what would you do to win the game for your team?
I wouldn’t say I blame Cousins in the decision he made. And as someone who played the position for 15 years, it’s completely within the rules — and it’s going to happen.
I am against changing the rule of trucking the catcher, because it’s a very exciting moment in the game. Yes, I understand that it’s also one of the most violent moments, but injuries happen everywhere on the field, and the number of serious injuries that come from home-plate collisions is fairly low.
Two outfielders running into each other often causes more damage, and I’d even venture to say that takeouts at second base, when the baserunner tries to break up a double play by sliding hard into the shortstop or second baseman, are more dangerous.
But that doesn’t mean they should be removed from the sport. And I hope the same holds true for home-plate collisions. Buster Posey will sit out this season, and many would like to see him return as a shortstop. He says he intends to return as a catcher, and I think that’s probably a good idea.
If he plays the rest of his career at shortstop, I think there’s just as much risk of injury, so why not leave him where he feels most comfortable?
Get well, Buster. I’ve still never seen a more dominant college athlete in person.
