Wilson Contreraswho had been one of the less effective receptors in framing pitches the year before – when they bring the glove into the strike zone – worked intensely during Spring Training to improve this aspect. The tendency to look for strikes in the lowest area of the plate, bordered Contreras to spend extra hours trying reinvent yourself behind the mask.
Last Tuesday, the inherent risk of the maneuver to approach home took a high price. Contrerasturned out seriously injured after being hit by a swing from the batter of the Mets, JD Martínez. Minutes later, the medical authorities of the ninth of Saint Louis They were diagnosed fracture in left arm and, as a result, a long stay on the injured list.
*COSTLY: The play that injured Wilson Contreras reveals how risky this practice can be with catchers.
WE RECOMMEND YOU: Alma Urquidy, Major League mom
The play was considered receiver interferencewhich awarded Martínez first base. Replay of the incident revealed that Contreras was close to the plate, as part of his new learning to try to “robar” strikes.
He Contreras case is the most dramatic of the growing list of interferences that in the last season of Big Leagues the umpires are calling the catchers.
INCREASE IN CATCHER INTERFERENCE
In the weeks before Opening Day of the 2024 season, a Major League Baseball memo (MLB) resonated in the 30 organizations, warning about a worrying increase in cases of receiver interference. The situation was clear: the catchers were being hit by the hitters contrary at an alarming rate. In 2023, 94 such cases were reported, a drastic increase of almost 20 times more than in 2022.
MLB urged teams to reverse this trend, moving catchers farther from the plate to reduce the risk of injury.
However, as often happens in the baseball, the reality was more complicated. Despite the warnings, the Receiver interference cases continued to increase at an alarming rate. Meanwhile he annual average of interference between 2010 and 2018 remained around 31 casesin the first months of 2024, 33 cases had already been reportedbreaking with the stability of previous years.
The pressure to influence referees’ decisions Over the strikes has led to a increase in injuries among recipients. This concern materialized with the Contreras casebut there are others that have gained relevance this campaign.
At the beginning of April, in a game between the Blue Jays and the Yankeeshe receptor Brian Serven was sanctioned for interference after catching a called third strike from Kevin Gausman. Although it was initially ruled a strikeout without interference, the Yankees They questioned the decision and again a video replay exposed the batting area violation by the catcher of the Canadian team.
He manager de los Blue Jays, John Schneiderdescribed the rule as a “legal loophole”, suggesting it could prompt teams to instruct hitters to act in a certain way to take advantage of it. Furthermore, concern about safety of recipients is intensifiedas Serven suffered a hand injury as a result of the interference.
Just like the receivers they gain centimeters as they approach the plate, the batters are stepping back to obtain a tiny amount of extra time to recognize a pitch, two elements that when combined cause dramatic images such as that of Wilson Contreras.
***Watch the video of the moment of the hit on Wilson Contreras at 2:53 minutes****
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2024-05-12 00:07:54
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