All that writing to say, “the catcher had it coming by getting in his way” for not, as your own words describe “abandoning his post”?
>> Of course faking is often used, like, in this case, the catcher could fake as Cobb is coming down the line like he’s going to stand tall and block, luring Cobb to take to the air, then at the last second the catcher could get down on the ground and shove him from underneath as he flies through the air. <<
Thus putting his face closer to the spikes. That would be so incredibly stupid as to defy words.
And standin’ there an’ takin’ it in the groin...