The general managers had already talked about legislating home plate collisions out of baseball before Scott Cousins ran over Buster Posey, but that particular moment in 2011 seemed to fully define the risks at hand -- the possibility of a great young franchise star having his career ruined by an outlier play.
The rules were changed, and similarly, Chase Utley's postseason slide into Ruben Tejada in 2015 accelerated eventual discussions to protect middle infielders.
The same sort of crystallization seemed to happen last summer in regards to the universal designated hitter, with the highly respected Masahiro Tanaka.
The adoption of the universal DH has seemed inevitable for months, and while there is haggling to be done between Major League Baseball and the union over the when and how, it's going to happen eventually, changing the context for National League teams dramatically. The anticipated changes have already affected decisions, in fact.
Some of the dominoes related to this:
1. The Cardinals can feel more at ease with whatever investment they make in first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. He's slated for free agency at year's end, but chairman Bill DeWitt is on the record saying he wants to try to work out an extension for Goldschmidt, who turns 32 this year. An important element of the Cardinals' assessment is how Goldschmidt can perform at the back end of whatever contract they offer, and knowing he can be used as a DH would ease concerns about the inevitable regression in his defense or how they would rest him.
2. The Giants can feel more at ease with whatever investment they might make in Bryce Harper. I wrote here in November about all the reasons Harper makes sense for the Giants, and if they're serious about a pursuit -- and not merely honoring a meeting request, or looking to scavenge value -- they would know that they could park Harper in the DH spot on at least some days ahead. One of the underlying concerns about Harper's 2018 performance is that he was one of the worst defenders in baseball, and while there is an assumption by some execs that Harper aimed to protect himself from injury by playing more conservatively in the field, the numbers were alarming to some evaluators. Access to the DH would allay some of that.
3. The Mets' addition of Robinson Cano might have a better chance to work. Joel Sherman of the New York Post mentioned this in his column Wednesday -- that the Mets took on Cano with an eye toward the adoption of the DH in years ahead. Cano is 36 years old and thickly built and some evaluators wonder whether he can avoid hamstring and calf problems in the last years of his career. The DH would help, obviously.
4. Super utility players would lose some value. Under National League rules, a guy like Ben Zobrist or Chris Taylor or Enrique Hernandez is coveted by managers executing double-switches, because they can slot into many different spots and help with the lineup manipulation.
Under a universal DH, that part of the super utility value would go away. Look, the Astros have loved Marwin Gonzalez, just as the Red Sox have valued Brock Holt; the Yankees just paid DJ LeMahieu $20 million to be their super utility guy. But if MLB adopts the rule that a pitcher must face at least three batters -- naturally reducing the number of pitchers on each roster, and giving managers plenty of extra position players -- as well as the DH, then the need for the guy who bounces from spot to spot, inning to inning and day by day, will be diminished.
5. The end of Joey Votto's contract will look a whole lot better for the Reds. Votto is a freakishly great hitter who has thrived in Cincinnati, and has a full no-trade clause in his contract that runs for at least five more years. He's in excellent condition. But he's 35, and eventually there will come a time when he and the Reds would be better off if he took some or most of his at-bats as a DH -- and now it seems likely that can happen in his final seasons, when Votto will be passing milestones. He has 1,729 hits, 1,104 walks, 269 homers, and counting.
6. Kyle Schwarber, Cub for life. His defensive play improved last season, making him a more viable option in the outfield. But if the DH is adopted, then the Cubs' front office will be freed from the quandary that has hung over Schwarber his entire career. The Cubs' executives love Schwarber, and very much believe he is capable of being a great hitter; they all have championship rings from 2016 because of his aptitude. But there has been an open question about where he is best suited to play, and whether he's viable long term in the field, or whether the Cubs would be better off dealing him.
If the DH is adopted by the NL teams, the future for Schwarber, who turns 26 in March, will look very different.
7. The value of the burly mashers will grow. In recent seasons, even a great slugger like Nelson Cruz has had his market limited to the American League -- the teams that use the DH. Now the number of landing spots could double; the trade value of someone like Schwarber could grow, simply because GMs would have more market options to pursue.