Royals’ Mike Massey faced a rare dilemma when trying to score against Boston
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Before 2014, runners sometimes tried to knock over catchers blocking the plate.
- The Buster Posey Rule has dramatically reduced collisions at the plate since its adoption.
- In the fifth inning, Massey was sent to try to score in the Royals’ 3-1 loss.
Before 2014, Major League Baseball runners trying to score often tried knocking over a catcher who was blocking the plate.
But the “Buster Posey Rule” has dramatically cut down on the number of collisions at the plate.
MLB rules 6.01 states that a “catcher, without the ball in his possession, has no right to block the pathway of the runner attempting to score. The base line belongs to the runner and the catcher should be there only when he is fielding a ball or when he already has the ball in his hand.”
There nearly was a collision at the plate Monday night during the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. It was scoreless in the fifth inning when Royals second baseman Michael Massey doubled. Kyle Isbel followed with a single and third-base coach Vance Wilson sent Massey.
Alas, the throw from Boston left fielder Masataka Yoshida got Massey.
“It’s an in-the-moment decision, and you know we generally we challenge him to throw us out,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said after the game. “He made a good throw.”
As Massey approached the plate, he faced a rare dilemma in baseball these days. Yoshida’s throw pulled catcher Red Sox Connor Wong into the base line, and Massey’s path to the plate was blocked.
Massey considered trying to run over Wong, and when is the last time you saw that in a game?
“That was a tough one,” Massey acknowledged. “I actually just went and looked at the play with Duper (replay coordinator Bill Duplissea), and I was running and I had the lane toward the catcher, which is where I was going to go, and then the throw — he did a good job as a catcher, he followed the rule and he gave me the lane — the throw led him in there, so he was allowed to kind of cover the plate to go get the ball.
“But it was last second, so he kind of covered the lane I was going for, and then I either had two options. Either I truck him or dodge to the left and try to score, and in that split second. I just tried to make a juke move, and get my hand in there. But yeah, you know, so it was a legal play by him and just a tough break.”
Unfortunately for the Royals, who are 20-28 and have lost seven of their last eight games.
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 9:46 AM.
