Report: Chase Utley’s suspension for takeout slide dropped by MLB
Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley will not serve the two-game suspension handed out by Major League Baseball following his vicious take-out slide in last year’s NLDS. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times first reported Sunday morning that the suspension had been dropped by the league, freeing Utley to play right away on opening day.
Joe Torre, MLB’s chief baseball officer and the man responsible for handing out such punishments, has since confirmed the report, telling Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the inconsistency in baseball’s sliding rules made the punishment too harsh.
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The New York Mets might not feel the same way though. Utley was given the two-game ban after his sliding into Ruben Tejada while breaking up a double play in Game 2 last October. The slide was late and violent, and ended up breaking Tejada’s leg, ending his season. The Mets injury stirred up quite a few emotions in both teams, leading to much tension throughout the series and fear of reliation.
The Mets never got much of a chance. Though Utley immediately appealed, allowing him to finish the season on the field, he did not play in Games 3 or 4 in New York. He failed to reach base during a pinch-hitting appearance in Game 5.
The fallout from the slide didn’t end with that series though. MLB took a hard look at their sliding rules this offseason, and recently announced some changes that were best explained by this video from C.J. Nitkowski. .
As you can see, take-out slides will still be allowed, but the runner can no longer deviate from his path to the base or make contact above the knee. The rule is obviously designed to prevent further incidents and injuries like this one, and will hopefully be enforced with enough consistency to make them effective.
As for Utley, he’ll continue battling for playing time at second base after re-signing with the Dodgers this offseason. Ruben Tejada is back on the field for New York as well, returning during Friday’s Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
