Take a look at this play at home plate in the top of the third inning of this afternoon’s game between the Yankees and Blue Jays. R.A. Dickey gave up a single to Jacoby Ellsbury to center field, but Colby Rasmus was able to cut down Francisco Cervelli at the plate. However, did Josh Thole block Cervelli’s path to the plate? You be the judge:
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Yankees manager Joe Girardi came out to argue and the umpires reviewed it, but the call on the original field was confirmed.
For a refresher, here’s part of the new rule on home plate collisions:
Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the Umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the Umpire shall call or signal the runner safe. Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 7.13 if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in order to field a throw, and the Umpire determines that the catcher could not have fielded the ball without blocking the pathway of the runner and that contact with the runner was unavoidable.
While there is some grey area here, it looks like Thole didn’t do anything to violate the new rule in this instance. This particular review, which was initiated by the umpires, was to determine whether Thole blocked the plate, but the Yankees might have gotten a run if Girardi used to a challenge to argue that Cervelli was safe. It looks like he got his foot in before the tag from Thole.
