After two clashes at home plate during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday, the topic of banning home plate collisions heated up.
MLB officials believe this issue will be talked about extensively during winter meetings, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.
“At this point, I don’t know who would argue to keep it, or what their argument would be,” one official said, expecting collisions to be discussed during the general manager meetings next month. “There is no reasoned argument to keep it [in the game].”
David Ross was at the heart of both collisions during Thursday’s contest. In the first inning, he was plowed into by Miguel Cabrera, and later in the game, the Sox catcher charged into Alex Avila who suffered a strained knee tendon on the play.
“Both guys were out by a mile,” said the official. “With catchers dropping like flies all over the place with concussions, it’s dumb … There is no place [in the game] to be raising an elbow into somebody’s head or neck to knock the ball out. It’s just dumb.”
In addition to Avila’s injury, the increased risk of concussions on the play and the collision that sidelined Buster Posey for an entire season, officials told Olney that the change is “inevitable” and “could come swiftly.”
