Replay system, banning collisions mark big steps forward for game

Engel Beltre (right) and Devin Mesoraco were just two of the players who in 2013 demonstrated how painful home plate collisions can be.

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As Bochy said, "It's time." The game is better without the home plate collision. Better still, the players are safer.

The last year somebody did it for a winning team was 2004, when Keith Foulke (Red Sox), John Smoltz (Braves) and Eric Gagne (Dodgers) all did so for playoff teams. From 2000-05 it was done 18 times and from 1982-93 it was done 53 times.