[Pharmboy]

You make a great point about home: but the catcher is well-armored, unlike the SS or 2nd baseman. After reading the comments, I am convinced that if they did make the middle-infielders touch the bag, they would go through 10 of them every season. The ‘in the vicinity’ rule makes sense.

[Theoria]

Yeah, but he pitcher also covers home plate sometimes. Let's say a wild pitch, pitcher runs to cover home, player running in from 3rd, boom. That should be how the game is played.