A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

11 October 2015

Let’s take the take-out slide out of baseball

Los Angeles Dodger Chase Utley earned himself a place in the Baseball Hall of Shame yesterday, right up there with Ty Cobb, the Georgia Peach and meanest man ever to play the game, and Pete Rose, Charlie Hustler the betting man.

Cobb slide into bases with hostile intent, his spikes up and ready to duke it out with anyone who complained. Rose barreled into everyone, but he’s most remembered for barreling into catcher Ray Fosse in the 12th inning of the 1970 All Star game, breaking Fosse’s shoulder and later behaving as though he was proud of the damage.

Dirty players, both of them. Cobb’s in the Hall of Fame, but Rose, banned from baseball for betting on baseball, never will, nor should, get there.

Yesterday, Utley proved himself an equally dirty player, sliding wide of second base into the back of Met’s shortstop Ruben Tejada, breaking Tejada’s leg. Utley should have been called out for interfering with the play, but instead was called safe in an epic officiating blunder.

Utley claimed he was just trying to break up a double play. No doubt he was. There’s a long tradition of that in baseball, but it’s not an honorable tradition. It’s a tradition of mugging the infielder instead of beating the throw — and it has no place in baseball.

It’s a dirty play. Take it out of the ballgame.