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Replay system, banning collisions mark big steps forward for game

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

Tom Verducci

Replay system, banning collisions mark big steps forward for game
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.
Engel Beltre (right) and Devin Mesoraco were just two of the players who in 2013 demonstrated how painful home plate collisions can be :: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

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.

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Tom Verducci
TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.

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