Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Cabrera, GM Meetings, Hot Stove on Fire
Jul 24, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman
Tommy La Stella(7) avoids the collision with Miami Marlins right fielder
Giancarlo Stanton(27) on a double play in the 6th inning of their game at Turner Field. Marlins won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Collision on base paths topic at GM meetings
ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT / WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
BOCA RATON, Fla. — After watching Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada carried off the field with a broken leg during the playoffs when the Dodgers’ Chase Utley upended him, Major League Baseball is examining whether to adopt a rule eliminating slides not directly at bases on force plays.
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The discussion comes two years after MLB banned home-plate collisions. Central baseball officials spoke with teams and the rules committee met at this week’s annual gathering of general managers. There will be more talk at next month’s winter meetings and consultation with the players’ association.
“We don’t want to have guys carried off the field,” Joe Torre, MLB’s chief baseball officer, said Wednesday. “Obviously, you can’t lose sight of what the game is about. You don’t want somebody just not trying to get to second base and not trying to keep the inning going. It’s a thin line that you have to walk, and that’s why it’s really tough to put pen to paper.”
[ Excerpted – more at the link above. Well, you knew this would probably come up. The next question involves how far baseball intends to go with it. There’s the “late” slide, the “airborne” slide, and the “zip code” slide… in which it’s tough to tell whether the runner is even in the same zip code as second base.
If the rule is to be changed, then here’s part of what I would personally want to recommend:
- Runner must be able to reach second base on his slide
- When sliding, runner must start slide and be in contact with the ground before reaching second base; if not sliding, then must not initiate contact with any fielder in vicinity (minimum penalty: obstruction; umpire may award 1 or 2 outs as warranted).
- Fielder must be able to tag the base or the runner while in possession of the ball (i.e., the “neighborhood” play is banned)
- There’s more that should be written about legal contact between runner and fielder around second base… but this is exactly the tricky part. ]
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