Last night HS game, there was a play at home whereby the catcher more or less blocked the plate as the ball was coming in. Runner had no lane to base and slowed-up to avoid bad collision. Ball 1-hops into glove as the avoided-collision ensues, holds onto ball, and gets the out. Did not affect the game outcome (but my son was robbed of a sac fly RBI). Our parents and coaches went ballistic, yelling that catcher's cannot block the plate. Darn sure the player could not truck the catcher. He stood there looking off into the distance while our HC tried to explain that blocking the plate was not allowed. Ruling held. Tempers flared and stayed chippy for a while.
I presume it is not legal to block the plate before the ball comes in, yes? And more broadly, in this era of no more collisions at home, I have to assume if a catcher does more than barely block the plate the run should count. But perhaps I'm wrong. Please let me know.