Video: Violent home plate collision during Cardinals-Phillies game

In the 4th inning of last nights St. Louis Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Philies game, Cardinals shortstop Raphael Furcal hit a single to Raul Ibanez. Ibanez fielded the ball and came up firing to home where catcher Carlos Ruiz was able to block Cardinals outfielder John Jay from scoring.

This is a nasty hit. However, not the first for Ruiz.

According to Philly.com, Raul Ibanez thinks “Ruiz is the best catcher he’s ever played with as far as staying in there and blocking the plate.”  Obviously, you can tell why Ibanez might believe that.

It seemed to me that had Jay attempted to slide around Ruiz, instead of going straight at hime, he would have been able to get around the tag. Luckily for St. Louis this play didn’t decide the outcome of the game. The Cardinals beat Cliff Lee and the Phillies 5-4, evening the series at one apiece.