As you well know, the weekend has been flooded with controversy ever since Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chase Utley executed a hard takeout slide on New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada. Was it legal and does he have a case?
Although Utley was suspended for the next two games of the NLDS, the latest rumors suggest he will be playing in Game 3 tonight.
ESPN's Karl Ravech reported this morning that the appeal will not take place before tonight's game, which means Utley will be eligible to play. Last night the MLB Communications Twitter account released a statement on Utley's suspension and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported the veteran would appeal.
There are two adamant sides for this whole argument - one saying Utley's slide was dirty and the other believing it was well under the scope of the rules. What's troubling is that there is perhaps a strong argument for Utley's slide being legal, and if that's the case, the rule needs to be changed right now.
Here's a video of the slide:
Ravech said on ESPN that Utley plans to bring "all sorts of video evidence" of other such takeout slides that support his case. The bottom line is that there should be no previous evidence to uphold Utley's appeal. His slide was not only unreasonably late, but it put himself and Tejada in danger, and that cannot be of the status quo.
It's certainly understandable that baseball players are wired to do all they can to break up a double play in such a crucial situation. Your team is competing for a spot in the World Series - the stakes are high and all it takes is one big momentum shift to put the game back in one's favor.
But there should be some ethics on the base paths. Utley's slide had many faults to it. He slid at - if not beyond - the bag rather than before it; he almost simultaneously hit the ground and Tejada; and Tejada was on the other side of second base, which further proves Utley's slide was to blatantly hit Tejada without having any regard for being safe.
Changing the rule would not be making baseball "soft," nor would it alter the history of the game. Takeout slides will always be a part of baseball, it just depends how they're executed. Anyone with a judgmental eye could see Utley was at fault here.
Chicago Cubs' outfielder Chris Coghlan dealt with similar backlash (although not as extreme) earlier in the season when he hit Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Jung Ho Kang with a takeout slide during a double play.
Check it out below:
As you can see, Coghlan slid well before the bag with the clear intention of breaking up the double play, which is legal. It just so happened Kang was in the process of stepping into the throw as Coghlan slid, which ended in a terribly unfortunate manner. This scenario displayed how even a legal and reasonable takeout slide can be dangerous to a middle infielder.
But Utley's slide was not sensible whatsoever. It put both players in significant danger, and if that's at all regarded as a legal slide, then running the bases would be a lawless act. The MLB cannot have baserunners blatantly diving at the legs of their opponents (who most of the time are not ready for it) because this isn't the NFL. Utley should be suspended at that's all there is to it.
Yes, the situation is bigger than it would be because Tejada broke his leg, but there would still be a lot of scrutiny surrounding the slide even if he hadn't. (And no, Don Mattingly, Mets' fans, or any other fans, would not be OK if David Wright did that same thing to Corey Seager.)
This has been an argument for many years now. Just check out this takeout slide Hal McCrae laid on Willie Randolph in the 1977 ALCS between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees.
Utley's wasn't to that extreme, but it's of the same concept. It's 2015 and the league needs more clarity on takeout slides or else there won't only be a dearth of talent among middle infielders - they'll be a dearth of them in general.
