Catchers injured in home-plate collisions

Atlanta Braves

The Giants' Buster Posey is among those who have been injured in home-plate collisions, and he is asking for rule changes to protect catchers.

The home-plate collision between the Marlins' Scott Cousins and Giants catcher Buster Posey has put the spotlight on rules governing them. Posey broke his lower left leg and tore three ligaments in his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. The Georgia native has asked that Major League Baseball and the players' union look at ways to protect catchers at home plate.

Posey is not the only one to be injured protecting the plate. Just two days after Posey was hurt, Astros catcher Humberto Quintero sprained his ankle in a collision while blocking the plate against the Diamondbacks third baseman Ryan Roberts. Quintero was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

One of the most famous collisions occurred at the 1970 All-Star Game, when the Reds' Pete Rose slammed into Indians catcher Ray Fosse to score the controversial winning run for the National League team. Fosse fractured his shoulder in the collision but didn't know it, continuing to play until Sept. 1. "What bothers me a little is that the play kind of fed into the whole 'Charlie Hustle' thing, and it could have been pretty easily avoided," Fosse once said.

Braves catchers have also had their share of injury-causing collisions. When the Diamondbacks' Eric Byrnes thrust his shoulder into Braves catcher Brian McCann during a 2006 collision, McCann heard a "pop." He had to be helped off the field and figured he was done for the season, but the Atlanta All-Star had only sprained his left ankle. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list. "I got lucky because my knee was not square," McCann said. "I could have torn my ACL."

The Angels' Darin Erstad planted his left shoulder into Braves catcher Johnny Estrada's facemask during a 2005 game, sending Estrada to the hospital with a head injury. He suffered from post-concussion syndrome for years after the incident.

Others have involved former Atlanta players. In 2003 when he was with the Dodgers, ex-Brave Brian Jordan collided with Padres catcher Gary Bennett. He had been hit so hard that he tried to catch the next pitch and fell down. Bennett missed a month with a torn MCL.

In 2010, the Yankees' Mark Teixeira, who had played with the Braves and at Georgia Tech, ran into Angels catcher Bobby Wilson with such force that Wilson's head hit the ground hard, causing a concussion.

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The home-plate collision between the Marlins' Scott Cousins and Giants catcher Buster Posey has put the spotlight on rules governing them. Posey broke his lower left leg and tore three ligaments in his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. The Georgia native has asked that Major League Baseball and the players' union look at ways to protect catchers at home plate.

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