The Giants saw first-hand what a horrific injury will do to a franchise. Buster Posey missed most of 2011 from a slide that changed rules around the plate. Ruben Tejada was lost for the rest of last year’s postseason due to Chase Utley‘s take-out slide at second.
The “unwritten rules” of baseball have been guarded by players for generations. Although the typical player understands the rules, some don’t, and it is harder to enforce those rules in this era’s game. The game used to clean itself up on its own.