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This same debate is now playing out in the discussion over home-plate collisions, the dangerous (and legal) practice of runners plowing into catchers on close plays at the plate in an attempt to make the catcher drop the ball, preventing an out. For years, the league has fended off efforts to address the issue. But now, following a string of gruesome injuries, and with prominent ex-catchers speaking out, it really is time for MLB to take action.

Many catchers caught off guard and off balance have sustained concussions, broken bones, and torn ligaments. One player nearly died from internal bleeding and a shattered shoulder.

Fanatical competitor Pete Rose notoriously charged through Ray Fosse to score the winning run in the 1970 All-Star game. The impact separated Fosse's shoulder, and is widely cited as the reason his career sputtered afterward. More recently, Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana had to be carted off the field after a 2010 collision badly strained his lateral collateral ligament and ended his rookie season.

Calls for a rule change didn't gain steam until 2011, when Buster Posey, San Francisco's budding star and last year's National League MVP, broke his leg and shredded ligaments in his ankle in a horrific collision that left him crawling around the plate, screaming in pain.