Chase Utley could face punishment over the slide that left New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada with a fractured fibula.
The incident came during the seventh inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ win over the Mets, when Utley slid into Tejada at second base while trying to break up a double play. The incident provoked widespread criticism with some suggesting that Utley had focused on crashing into Tejada, whose back was turned, rather than going for base.
“He hit Tejada before he hit the ground,” said Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer after the game. “To me that’s not a slide – that’s a tackle.”
Utley-Tejada collision. That is brutal. pic.twitter.com/5qQcPEcVBt
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) October 11, 2015
Indeed, in the Official Baseball Rules, a note to Rule 5.09 (a) (13) says that umpires should have called a double play if they believed Utley had gone outside the baseline in order to disrupt Tejada’s throw. “The objective of this rule is to penalize the offensive team for deliberate, unwarranted, unsportsmanlike action by the runner in leaving the baseline for the obvious purpose of crashing the pivot man on a double play, rather than trying to reach the base,” the comment says. “Obviously this is an umpire’s judgment play.”
Joe Torre, the MLB’s chief baseball officer, was at the game and said he would review the incident. “I’d hate to think that Utley tried to hurt somebody,” said Torre, who formerly managed the Dodgers. “It certainly was late. That concerns me. The lateness of the slide. I’m looking at it to see if anything should be done.
“I have to determine if I thought it was excessive,” he added. “Not that you shouldn’t slide hard, but as I said, just the late slide is probably the only thing that is in question right now.”
Torre added it was correct to call Utley safe on second base after the Dodgers asked for a video review when the umpires initially said he was out. The review showed Tejada did not touch the base on the play – although Utley did not touch the base on his slide.
“He never needed to touch the base because the umpire called him out,” Torre said. “You’re correcting the umpire’s mistake. In that situation, going to replay and they see the runner never touched the base, but the umpire called him out, by replay rules we can correct the situation and put the runner on the bag.”
The incident has generated intense debate, with some calling for Utley to be punished and others such as Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr saying such plays are part of the game.
Any time a current or former player thinks doing TV is a no lose situation, Look at Cal Ripken Jr. tonight. Used to be teflon.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 11, 2015
For his part, Utley defended his actions after the game. “I was trying to put a body on him to try to break up a double play,” said Utley, who added he felt “terrible” when he learned of Tejada’s injury. “You’re taught from a young age to try to break up double plays. I think that’s winning baseball. Anybody in that situation ... my focus is seeing the ball. I didn’t realize his back was turned. Everything obviously happens fast.”
Baseball has traditionally allowed infielders turning double plays to keep from touching second base in interests of their safety. This is called “the neighborhood play.” Ironically, on 3 September Utley was told by umpire Chris Conroy that the neighborhood play no longer exists as he tried to turn a double play against San Diego. In that case, the Padres Justin Upton was called safe as Utley straddled the bag while completing a double play. This may have established a precedent for Utley that middle infielders are fair game in such situations.
The incident came at a crucial time. The Mets had won the teams’ AL Division Series opener, and were leading Saturday’s game 2-1 going into the seventh inning. By the end of the inning they had given up four runs and would lose the game 5-2. Mets third baseman David Wright admitted that his team had been overcome by “confusion and head scratching” after Tejada’s injury.
Mets second baseman Kelly Johnson said he did not blame Utley but echoed many when he raised the issue of changing the rules to protect players.
“We’re losing our starting shortstop now for the rest of the playoffs,” Johnson told ESPN. “He’s got a broken fibula. It cost us potentially this game. And we don’t have anything to show for it.
“Chase is playing hard. He’s doing his thing. He’s in the moment. That’s not the issue. The issue is he hit our shortstop first before hitting dirt. The question is at, one, is that illegal? At what point do we say, ‘Hey, man, we missed something here.’ We’ve got rules at home plate to protect our guys. What’s the difference?
“Ruben stuck his neck out there to make a play to try to get the bag and then to turn to make a throw. And before he can get the ball out of the glove he’s getting tackled.”
The Dodgers and Mets play game three of the series on Monday night.
