(Photo: Tim Fuller, USA TODAY Sports)
TAMPA -- Major League Baseball implemented an experimental, controversial rule Monday to protect catchers, prohibiting baserunners from initiating deliberate collisions at home plate in hopes of preventing concussions and injuries.
Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Players Association, cautions that the rule will be on an experimental basis only for the 2014 season, particularly after hearing a mixed reaction from veteran catchers.
"I disagree with it,'' Boston Red Sox catcher A.J. Pierznyski told USA TODAY Sports over the weekend. "I understand why they're doing it, but next, they're going to tell us that you can't slide into the guy at second base.
"It's one of those things, as a big-league catcher, I signed up for it. You never want to see guys get hurt, and you never want to see guys go down because of it, but it's part of the game you signed up for.
"There are going to be plays at the plate, late in games, where you need to block the plate and try to keep that guy from scoring, saving save a run that ultimately gets your team into the playoffs.
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