Legal Plate Blocking in SD & Peace Keeping in CHI

In this twofer, we look at a reviewed-and-confirmed home plate collision rule/blocking no-call in Miami-San Diego and 1B Umpire and Crew Chief Dan Bellino's game management in Seattle-Chicago. Padres manager Bob Melvin unsuccessfully challenged HP Umpire Alex Tosi's out call at home, as Replay Review confirmed Marlins catcher Nick Fortes was legal in blocking home plate to tag out Padres baserunner Fernando Tatis.

We compare and contrast this play to Padres catcher Gary Sanchez's plate blocking violation in San Francisco earlier this season, that resulted in an ejection. The key is how the catcher sets up, as moving into the path in a legitimate attempt to field the throw, similar in theory to the runner's lane, requires that one was initially positioned legally in order to "exit" the legal position, so to speak. Fortes was initially legal, whereas Sanchez was not.

In Chicago, the Mariners were in the midst of a blowout of the White Sox. Mariners batter Jose Caballero was hit by a pitch by Brent Honeywell and the two teams chirped at each other, instructed by the umpires to knock it off. Subsequent batter Ty France then hit a foul fly ball near the Mariners dugout and 1B Umpire Bellino hustled to get in between the oncoming White Sox fielders and the visiting team in the dugout, just in case any left over theatrics remained.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: A legal plate block in San Diego & blowout game management in Chicago