Here’s a funny one: The Dodgers used a challenge Thursday to review a call involving Rule 6.01(j), the “Chase Utley rule,” and Utley was involved in the play.
Irony aside, there was an important takeaway: the proper application of the new rule still isn’t entirely clear.
The play took place in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the Angels. With a runner (Yunel Escobar) at first base, Utley fielded a ground ball and threw to shortstop Corey Seager covering second base. Escobar missed the bag, missed Seager, and made no attempt to touch second base as he slid past. See for yourself:
The Dodgers lost the challenge.
Manager Dave Roberts explained his position after the game.
“As I understand it, the rule is in place to protect the middle infielders, so the biggest deterrent would be an automatic double play when there’s no attempt to touch second base,” Roberts said. “That’s why we challenged.”
Even though Escobar didn’t touch Seager on the sequence, Roberts considered this a moot point.
“Whether he slides into Corey five feet away not making any attempt to touch the bag, or if it’s three feet away — for me it’s the same thing,” Roberts said. “Whether he hits him or doesn’t but if there’s no attempt, the point is that he didn’t make any attempt to touch the bag.”
It’s the first game in which the Dodgers’ new manager has had an opportunity to challenge a call. Video review wasn’t available during Cactus League games in Arizona.
Rule 6.01(j) was only enacted in February and Roberts believes more clarity is needed in situations like Thursday’s. However, the confusion here isn’t whether or not Escobar tried to touch the bag or make contact with Seager, but rather if he did both.
Here’s the text of the rule in question:
If a runner does not engage in a bona fide slide, and initiates (or attempts to make) contact with the fielder for the purpose of breaking up a double play, he should be called for interference under this Rule 6.01. A “bona fide slide” for purposes of Rule 6.01 occurs when the runner:
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(1) begins his slide (i.e., makes contact with the ground) before reaching the base;
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(2) is able and attempts to reach the base with his hand or foot;
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(3) is able and attempts to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide; and
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(4) slides within reach of the base without changing his pathway for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder.
As I read it, the problem for an umpire trying to enforce Rule 6.01(j) in this situation is determining whether Escobar attempted to make contact with Seager. Escobar clearly did not make a bona fide slide. He may have been able to reach second base with his hand or foot, but he didn’t try to. But for Rule 6.01(j) to be applied, Escobar also needed to attempt to make contact with Seager. If he did, the batter/runner (Craig Gentry) is out and it’s a double play.
But if Escobar really tried to make contact with Seager, he failed miserably. Watch the replay as often as you wish, and pause the video at the 2:50 mark. There’s a lot of air between Escobar and Seager.
And yet, why else would Escobar slide so far out of the baseline if not to make contact with Seager?
Maybe I’m missing something here, because according to Roberts that wasn’t the thrust of his discussion with crew chief Paul Emmert.
“They said there needs to be a little more clarity because there wasn’t an attempt to touch the base at second,” Roberts said. “We challenged … expecting the batter/runner (Craig Gentry) to be out at first base, and so they said that because it didn’t impede the throw, and Corey cleared himself enough that it didn’t affect the play at first base. So they ruled him safe at first.”
Please chime in with your thoughts below if you see something that I missed, or that Roberts missed, or that the umpires missed. As MLB and the Players’ Association reviews the wording of their new rule, this might be a prime example of a gray area.
