Time For Sports To Adjust To Modern TImes

So I was watching the WBC today and they brought up an interesting point about protecting players, mostly pitchers and catchers. One person tweeted all runners should have to slide at home and I think it's a great idea. You are required to slide at every other base and while it's a loose rule, it is a rule. One of the announcers mentioned that there is a rule in place you can only take out the catcher only when he has the ball, but let's be honest it's never enforced. While the collision at the plate is one of the most exciting plays it also very dangerous for both players. In this day and age sports bank on a players marketability and when someone like Buster Posey is taken out at home and has to miss time it not only hurts his team, but also the sport. Imagine if a catcher loses an acl to a collision at the plate? That would probably end his career.

Same thing on the flip side with pitchers, they are wide open to injury after every pitch. Each year a pitcher goes down after being hit by a line drive. Even two years ago with Juan Nicasio of the Rockies took a line drive that knocked him unconscious then broke his neck on the fall to the ground. You can't put equipment on a pitcher, but what if we could find a way to add a little padding inside their hats? Now I know what good is a little padding going to do against a line-drive? Well I don't know but we have technology for paper thin plastic to stop bullets so I'm sure there something more MLB could do to at least limit the damage from a line drive.

I know football is trying to adjust the game for less injuries, but I am not sure they are approaching it correctly. They are talking about widening the field thinking if you spread the players out it will limit the hard hits. I believe it will cause the opposite, given a safety more time to get a head of steam before delivering a hit is dangerous. Not to mention it does not appear players are getting the message. We still see players leaving their feet and leading with their heads. The NFL needs to stiffen penalties and I think both leagues need better drug testing. The players are getting too big and too fast, I mean it's unnatural.I am not talking about skinny guys who take steroids to heal, I am talking about the players who can't put there arms down. We look the other way because we love our sports, but steroids are running wild and testing can not catch up to the latest in designer steroids. It's time we adjust the game to modern times and make it safer for everyone.