Umpires call it a train wreck, a play that results in a horrific collision through no fault of the baserunner or fielder. No interference or obstruction is called. It’s considered “just baseball” and seemingly unavoidable.
The most recent example began with a bunt by Luis Arráez of the San Diego Padres against the Houston Astros on Sunday. First baseman Christian Walker fielded the ball and tossed it to second baseman Mauricio Dubón, who’d raced over to cover first.
Dubón’s momentum carried him directly behind the base as he touched it with his foot to record the out. Arráez, meanwhile, motored up the line and through the base, then slammed into Dubón. Arráez got the worst of it, suffering a concussion that landed him on the injured list.
Throughout baseball history, such collisions have been met mostly with grimaces and shrugs. Nobody likes seeing an injury, but the game is the game and, as the saying goes, it hasn’t changed in 150 years.
Now, though, tweaking rules and introducing concepts are in vogue, whether to improve the pace of play with a pitch clock, increase stolen bases with larger bags, or address player safety by eliminating catchers blocking home plate.
Addressing collisions at first base might be next. They are frequent, and often result in serious injury.
An abbreviated list of memorable train wrecks at first base:
— 2023: The Minnesota Twins’ Royce Lewis flips over Cleveland Guardians first baseman Gabriel Arias and lands on his face, with his neck bending as his legs fly up and over his body.— 2022: Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets his free hand stepped on while stretching for a throw. — 2017: The Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper hyperextends his left knee when he lunges to beat a throw and slips on a wet base during a crowded play at first. — 2013: The New York Mets’ Eric Young steps on the right ankle of Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson, who is covering the bag on a ground ball to first baseman Freddie Freeman. Hudson suffers a fractured ankle.
And, of course, Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy suffers a torn ulnar collateral ligament when the Brewers’ Jace Peterson slams into his left arm as he reaches into the base line to catch a throw in the last game of the 2021 regular season. Muncy is out for the entire postseason and the injury lingers into the next spring.
“I definitely felt like my arm wasn’t there,” Muncy said.
Several if not all of those calamitous collisions could have been avoided with one simple solution: Follow the lead of NCAA baseball and utilize two first bases, an orange or green one for the runner and a white one for the fielder.
The injury to his three-time National League batting champion Arráez fresh in his mind, Padres manager Mike Shildt said on the “Starkville” podcast with Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville that common sense dictates Major League Baseball explore the two-base solution.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” he said. “I haven’t seen it or played with it, to form a real strong opinion. But conceptually, it’s one of those things where you go: You know, why not? I mean, we want our players to be safe and on the field. … Conceptually, it does check some boxes to me that make sense — that listen, let’s just create a lane for everybody.”
Shildt said Arráez seems to be recovering well so far.
“He’s sore, as you would expect,” Shildt said. “But nothing from a CT scan that’s alarming in the cervical area or the jaw line, because he got a little abrasion on his jaw. And cognitively, [he’s] alert, remembers what’s taken place, is testing positively to this point on anything relative to the concussion side of it.”
Pushback on implementing double first bases might come from purists, but player safety has become an overarching concern as salaries have increased. The average MLB salary this year is $5 million, which is what Dubón will make. Arráez will make $14 million.
The collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season. Top of the agenda for owners in negotiations will be the creative spending of deep-pocket teams such as the Dodgers and Mets. Another hot-button topic is player safety, which union chief Tony Clark mentions at every turn. Double first bases, anyone?
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