Where do you fall in the Chase Utley slide debate?
Because there’s no gray area here, at least according to baseball fans on the Internet. It’s very black and white. You either think Chase Utley is a gritty player, one who will do anything to help his team. Or you think Utley is dirty as hell, unleashing one of the dirtiest slides in the game’s history.
By now you’ve heard about the ugly result of the play, a broken fibula for Ruben Tejada that will keep him out of the 2015 playoffs. And of course, you know Utley was called “safe” despite never touching the bag because baseball rules make about as much sense as a Greg Hardy rap video.
The reaction on the Internet was unkind, especially from members of the sports media:
I don't love many of MLB's rules of reciprocation. Feels caveman-ish. Archaic. That said, whatever Utley gets, he's got coming.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) October 11, 2015
Am I wrong or did MLB umps just call someone who never touched a base & ran off the field thinking he was out "safe". After seeing it again.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 11, 2015
https://twitter.com/BartHubbuch/status/653058429028839424
Former Mets SS Jose Reyes also weighed-in:
that was a really weak attempt at a slide by utley😡😡😡😡
— Jose Reyes (@lamelaza_7) October 11, 2015
But the most outspoken critic of the night was Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez:
“I have a hard time watching this play, not because of what happened to Tejada. But just watching Utley up close, it seemed to me like he never had the intention of sliding and breaking up the double play. He went straight after Tejada. And that is something that is mind-boggling coming from a second baseman. It kind of bothers me to see that.
He went to break up the double play, and I understand that. You have to play baseball the hard way and you want to break up the double play. But you also have to protect the players out there.”
Here now are reactions from baseball fans on the Internet:
So the only people defending that slide are Cal Ripken, @dick_nixon and Yankees fans
— Michael A. Cohen (NOT TRUMP’S FORMER FIXER) (@speechboy71) October 11, 2015
*Utley shoots Matt Harvey in the parking lot*
"That's hard nosed murder, Ron. Gotta love October."— Wes Yee (@WesYee) October 11, 2015
https://twitter.com/erikmal/status/653062917139533824
So to recap, a catcher (with gear on) can't block the plate on a close play, but a middle infielder can get absolutely destroyed. Logical.
— Kevin Burkhardt (@kevinburkhardt) October 11, 2015
Replay of the Chase Utley slide. #NLDS2015 #Dodgers #Mets pic.twitter.com/gKPEDAprJI
— Robbie Lewis (@SayHeyRob) October 11, 2015
https://twitter.com/RealKentMurphy/status/653058989824061440
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/653064351486726144
https://twitter.com/los_mets/status/653064480641949696
I just spoke to MLB and I too am safe at second, having touched it as much as Chase Utley did.
— devin kharpertian (@uuords) October 11, 2015
CHASE UTLEY JUST DOING IT #THERIGHTWAY, I SUPPOSE. AT LEAST HE DOESN'T BAT FLIP OR HAVE DEMONSTRATIVE CELEBRATIONS.
— NOT HALL OF FAMER BASEBALL PERSON (@TRIPPINGOLNEY) October 11, 2015
"Chase Utley's slide is not the worst thing to happen in baseball," Pete Rose said. "For example, I bet against my own team"
— suss– 🥌 (@suss2hyphens) October 11, 2015
