Chase Utley has taken Ruben Tejada out before with an aggressive slide

Game 2 of the Mets-Dodgers NL division series was decided on a play no one likes or wants to see deciding a game of any circumstance.

In the seventh inning, New York shortstop Ruben Tejada was injured on a late and aggressive takeout slide by Chase Utley. Given the circumstances of the play, Utley’s slide was unnecessary at best. Some might contend it was borderline vicious in nature. As a result of the play, Tejada sustained a fractured right fibula, ending his season.

That was also a lot of baseball stuff involved too. A review determined Tejada missed tagging second base, which allowed Utley to stay on base despite never actually touching it. The impact that ruling had on the game was immense, as the Dodgers went on to score three more runs and win the game 5-2.

But we want to look at the slide itself, and more or less Utley’s history of being quite aggressive on the bases.

First things first though, while it may not have specifically violated any rules…

Play was unfortunate and ugly. Utley did what base runners are taught to do. Rule needs to be implemented to protect infielders.

— Eric James Byrnes (@byrnes22) October 11, 2015

MLB’s chief baseball officer Joe Torre says Utley’s slide on Saturday is of concern to the league because of how late it got started.

Joe Torre on slide. “It certainly was late. That concerns me. The lateness of the slide.”

— David Lennon (@DPLennon) October 11, 2015

That would indicate some sort of punishment is in play here, and Utley’s aggressive past could end up working against him. As several outlets have pointed out, there are numerous examples of Utley’s baserunning aggression, including a very similar play against Tejada from five years ago.

Take a look.

Tejada walked away that time, but he was lucky.

One year later in the postseason, Utley was involved in another hard takeout of St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Ryan Theriot.

In that instance Utley slid late and low. Theriot was shaken up but not injured.

Here’s another from just last month.

Video of Utley slide in a game a month ago pic.twitter.com/A0FhNRMbp0

— Mike Rosenberg (@RosenbergMerc) October 11, 2015

Utley goes well out of his way to create contact, but it would be tough to chalk that one up as dirty.

With that said, all of these plays are left open to interpretation. Some people will see every play as an acceptable level of aggression. Others might be divided or undecided. Others still would like to see these types of plays somehow eliminated from the game all together. That won’t be easy, but that sentiment exists.

One thing is for sure. It will now be a hot topic of discussion this month and certainly this winter. If something is going to change, now might be the time. Any punishment for Utley might be our first indication of what’s to come.

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