We’re just a few days into the MLB season and the league’s new slide rule has already cost one team a game.
With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning of a one-run game, the Toronto Blue Jays saw two runs get negated after Jose Bautista was called for baserunner interference on a slide into second base. As the Tampa Bay Rays tried to turn a double play, they threw the ball away on the throw to first, allowing the potential game-tying and game-winning runs to cross the plate.
But the play was reviewed and, instead of taking a 4-3 lead, the umpires ruled that Bautista had interfered with Logan Forsythe during the turn at second and awarded the Rays a game-ending double play.
Here’s a breakdown of the ruling from MLB.com:
Under the new rule 6.01(j) runners have to make a “bona fide slide,” which involves contact with the ground before reaching the base, attempting to reach the base with a hand or foot, and being able to remain on the bag at the completion of the slide.
In this particular case, Bautista appeared to overslide second base and he also reached out with his left hand and made contact with Forsythe’s foot. The replay officials in New York ruled that Bautista’s slide hindered and impeded the fielder and also called for runner interference because he did not remain on the base.
Though Toronto isn’t the first team already this season to infringe, they’re certainly the most notable considering the timing of it. It was a brutal turn of events for Toronto in a make-or-break situation, so it’s not exactly shocking that they were extremely frustrating by the ruling.
“My feet were aiming straight at the bag,” Bautista said. “I felt like I was within reach. I didn’t go directly at him. As far as I understood, I was assuming contact was still OK and obstructing his path was still OK as long as you stayed within reach of the bag and your feet were headed towards the bag. I feel like I respected the rule, felt like it was absolutely a clean slide. It’s just disappointing and somewhat embarrassing to lose a Major League Baseball game [that way].”
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was also clearly ticked off, and one of his postgame comments in particular will likely rub some people the wrong way.
Gibbons tells reporters: "Maybe we'll come out and wear dresses tomorrow. Maybe that's what everybody's looking for."
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) April 6, 2016
For the Blue Jays and Rays, this was only game three of 162. Even with it being a divisional matchup, a game on April 5 isn’t going to ruin anyone’s season and, while one can certainly understand the frustration on Toronto’s side, isn’t it better to get a clear understanding of the new rule now as opposed to later in the season? If you have a big-time controversy that makes headlines early in the season, teams can now point to this play and say “this is where MLB is going to draw the line” and then go from there.
It stinks for Toronto that they were the first big victims of the rule change, but now everyone has a baseline example for the rule, as well as the knowledge that the league isn’t afraid to crack down on violations in crucial game situations. Anyone who screws up from here on out will likely only have themselves to blame.
