Should running into the catcher be outlawed in MLB?

[BigMike]

Not picking on you, because this is one of the most misunderstood rules in all of Little League, but not only is that not a LL international rule, but it's not a rule in your league either. The coaches, players and even umpires may believe it is, but it isn't and your league does bot have the authority to create that rule.

Here is an excerpt from a LL ump course:
7.08 -- Any runner is out when -
(3) the runner does not slide or attempt to get around a fielder who has the ball and is waiting to make the tag;

Casebook -- Comment: There is “no“ must slide rule. The rule is slide or attempt to get around. The key in this situation is “fielder has the ball and is waiting to make the tag.”

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS:
⇒ Hurdling or going over the defensive player that has the ball and is waiting to make a tag is a legal maneuver. Rule 7.08(a) (3) does not prevent or make hurdling illegal.
⇒ Rule 7.08(a-3) is easily the most misunderstood rule in the book. It is easily broken down as follows:
(1) The fielder must have the ball in his/her possession; AND
(2) The fielder must be WAITING to make the tag;
If BOTH of those two criteria are satisfied, then the runner must EITHER:
(1) Slide; OR
(2) ATTEMPT to get around the fielder.
⇒ Notice that the rule says, “attempt to get around”, not “avoid”. Contact may occur with no penalty assessed.

⇒ There is no “Must Slide” rule and no league may create one. No league may modify Rule 7.08(a-3).

 
Oh man you don't know how much I hate the enforcement of that rule.  Every ump calls it differently, and 90% call it wrong.
 
I've had umpires call a player out when a catcher or a pitcher covering home on a WP, catches the ball, and reaches out to tag the runner, and there is contact between the glove and the runner. The umpire decided that represented a collision. 
 
On the other hand we had a 5'7" 150 lb football RB last year who came sliding into home plate and put his foot square in the belly of the catcher, knocking him back a full 5 feet,  and that was determined to be clean because the runner slid,  but it was easily the most violent collision I have seen at HP in 25 years of coaching

 

[Rice4HOF]

Every ump calls it differently, and 90% call it wrong.

Yep. When I coached I had an ump call a runner out on a wild pitch where it went so far the pitcher didn't even bother covering home. The catcher was retrieving the ball while the runner jogged home and when he got there the ump called him out. I asked him why and he said the league had instructed him to enforce the must slide rule. In his mind the rule was every runner must slide into home plate no matter what.

 

[soxhop411]

We may be getting there.

“@EyeOnBaseball: Report: Team officials believe ban of home plate collisions is likely http://t.co/fnzhXKXp4j via @cbssports”

 

[terrisus]

I've always thought that it should be. 
I mean, you don't see people charging into 2nd base on a tag play trying to knock the ball out of the fielder's glove. 
 
Obviously Home is different, since once you touch it and are safe that's the end of it, whereas on other bases you could still be tagged out if you were tagged while off the base. 
Still, there are plenty of situations where it would "make sense" to try to knock the ball out of a 2nd or 3rd baseman's glove, but you never see that happening. 
 
My solution would be to just change tag play rules so that if a fielder: 
1) Has control of the Baseball
2) Tags the runner
Then he is out. None of this "If the runner knocks the ball out of the fielder's grip, he's safe." This is Baseball, not Football.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

With the rule on the agenda for upcoming GM Meeting, here's what I found on the MABL Site, as an ESPN article claims the most likely outcome is the use of Amateur League Rules:
 
The Runner Must Avoid Contact
 
...the runner must avoid contact, even if the fielder is improperly blocking the basepath. Because the runner can see the path in front of him and the fielder must concentrate on the ball, the runner bears greater responsibility to avoid contact.
 
When runners raise their arms or elbows during a tag attempt, they create a difficult judgment call. If the obvious intent is to dislodge the ball, it should be treated as an intentional collision. The basic principle remains: runners must avoid intentional contact.
 
The Obstruction Rule
 
Fielders may not block a base unless they are immediately making a play on a batted or thrown ball in that area. Catchers should station themselves in the cutout in front of the plate, not down the third base line. The runner has the right to the base path, unless a fielder is in the process of making a play. A runner whose path to the base is illegally blocked, shall be awarded that base. A fielder who initiates contact by illegally blocking the basepath or applies an excessively violent tag, may be ejected, just like the runner.

 

[soxhop411]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN1m
Smart team lawyer notes MLB must now follow through on HP collision rule change for '14,because acknowledgment of problem sets up liability.

 

[soxhop411]

“@Buster_ESPN: Sources say there will be continued discussions about eliminating home plate collisions/specific changes here at the winter meetings.”


Would not shock me if a rule change happens this offseason as a way for MLB to protect themselves from the lawsuits that have come against the NFL and the NHL the past few years.