I believe that Ralph already quoted the actual rule. I am not a league official, but I am familiar with the issue at hand.
Frankly, I'm shocked that there's any ambiguity at all. The rule is clear: Must slide. The last thing we want to see is a big crashup at home plate. It's the obligation of every manager to make this rule absolutely clear to his team. And all the catchers I know are aware of the rule.
I have seen, at times, runners instinctively "forget" the rule and give a slight shoulder to the catcher. Appropriate apologies are always made.
To my view, the is a critical rule in place for our safety, in recognition of our advanced age, and the fact we have careers outside of baseball and families. There's no need for collisions at the plate. And the rule is immediate ejection. The last thing I want to see is my catcher, or ANY catcher, go down to injury because of an avoidable collision at home plate.
At the same time, no player is allowed to block ANY base without the ball (we see this most commonly on steals of second base). If that is the case, the offensive team has a legitimate gripe to make with the umpire. The runner should not collide with the offending defending, but either slide or run out of the basepath, and immediately make the umpire aware of WHY you did it.
In the CDMSBL, there's no reason for anything other than a hard, clean slide. There's no gray area here. It's a good rule. No, it's a great rule. And it's there for the protection of our players and their families.
