MLB unofficially tweaked the new home plate collision rule recently. Umps now can be slower when making the call and runners can be out if the catcher doesn't blatantly cause a collision to occur.
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Originally Posted by ESPN
However, ESPN obtained a copy of Torre's memorandum, which firmly instructs umpires not to call a runner safe, even if the catcher has blocked the plate without the ball, if there is no evidence that the catcher has "hindered or impeded" the runner's path to home plate.
The new guidelines, which were arrived at following several weeks of talks between MLB and the Players Association, will take effect immediately. The late-season agreement is timed in the hope of keeping postseason controversy surround the rule to a minimum.
Primarily, the clarification was to send a reminder to umpires that while the intent of the rule was to protect catchers from violent home-plate collisions, the wording was not intended to be interpreted so strictly that it would allow runners to be called safe on a technicality if the throw had beaten them to the plate by a substantial margin.
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