What if baseball were a contact sport? So like if a runner's on first base and trying to take a lead, the first baseman could either play for the ball or physically hold the guy in place. Maybe he wouldn't be allowed to grab, but it might be more like basketball where you were allowed to try to box somebody out and pivot on one foot or something.
A rival baseball league should make that a rule to differentiate themselves from the competition. That's what I learned in business school. You want to differentiate yourself from the competition. Like if your competition is making lemonade, you make ecofriendly habitats for turtles.
GO PADRES!!