Just like a few years back when Scott Cousins‘ home plate collision with Buster Posey forever changed home plate collision rules, Chase Utley‘s takeout slide of Ruben Tejada has forever changed slides at second base. Utley’s slide in the NLDS severely injured Tejada in front of a national audience who was shocked by the brutality of the play.

The new rule states a “bona fide attempt” must be made by the slider to reach the base rather than the past wild west situation which had existed until Thursday.

The full press release from MLB and MLBPA about sliding is below:

SLIDES

     Under new Rule 6.01(j), which has been added to the existing Rule 6.01 on “Interference, Obstruction, and Catcher Collisions,” slides on potential double plays will require runners to make a bona fide attempt to reach and remain on the base.  Runners may still initiate contact with the fielder as a consequence of an otherwise permissible slide.  A runner will be specifically prohibited from changing his pathway to the base or utilizing a “roll block” for the purpose of initiating contact with the fielder.  Potential violations of Rule 6.01(j) will be reviewable using instant replay.  Also reviewable will be “neighborhood play” calls, which previously were exempted from replay review.  Rule 6.01(j) reads as follows:

Rule 6.01(j) – Sliding To Bases On Double Play Attempts

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:

(1)       begins his slide (i.e., makes contact with the ground) before reaching the base;

(2)       is able and attempts to reach the base with his hand or foot;

(3)       is able and attempts to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide; and

(4)       slides within reach of the base without changing his pathway for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder.

A runner who engages in a “bona fide slide” shall not be called for interference under this Rule 6.01, even in cases where the runner makes contact with the fielder as a consequence of a permissible slide.  In addition, interference shall not be called where a runner’s contact with the fielder was caused by the fielder being positioned in (or moving into) the runner’s legal pathway to the base.

Notwithstanding the above, a slide shall not be a “bona fide slide” if a runner engages in a “roll block,” or intentionally initiates (or attempts to initiate) contact with the fielder by elevating and kicking his leg above the fielder’s knee or throwing his arm or his upper body.

If the umpire determines that the runner violated this Rule 6.01(j), the umpire shall declare both the runner and batter-runner out.  Note, however, that if the runner has already been put out then the runner on whom the defense was attempting to make a play shall be declared out.

I understand the augment that you want to keep your players safe, but I’ve always had the mindset that baseball is a contact sport and that this is part of the game. At any rate, my opinion remains less important than Rob Manfred’s. Either way, the new rule doesn’t change the game, it just makes it safer, which is a big topic across sports now.

Perhaps the bigger news in this joint press release was that MLB would be tightening up their timing on game’s for the second straight season. Both mound visits and inning breaks will be timed and trimmed down.

PACE OF GAME

         The pace of game program will expand this season to include timed 30-second visits to the pitcher’s mound by managers and pitching coaches.  In addition, break timers will now mirror the time allotted to broadcasters between innings: 2:05 for locally televised games and 2:25 for nationally televised games, a reduction of 20 seconds each from the 2015 season, when the timers counted down from 2:25 for local games and from 2:45 for national games.  The change aims to allow players to more closely match the resumption of play with the return of broadcasters from commercial breaks.

       The vast majority of last year’s newly implemented pace of game initiatives will continue in 2016.  The 2015 changes centered around enhanced enforcement of Rule 5.04(b)(4) – the “Batter’s Box Rule” – and the addition of ballpark timers measuring the break time between innings and during pitching changes.  Those efforts contributed to a reduction of six minutes and seven seconds (6:07) per nine-inning game from 2014 to 2015, dropping the average length from 3:02:21 to 2:56:14.

Links:

USA Today Sports / Fowler signs 1-year deal with Cubs, spurns O’s

Dexter Fowler, the former Colorado Rockies center fielder, signed a one-year deal with an option year to remain with the Chicago Cubs despite the $184 million acquisition of Jayson Heyward. Fowler had all but dotted his “I”s and crossed his “T”s with the O’s earlier this week but he’ll bolster and already loaded Cubs lineup.

Thomas Harding / MLB.com // Weiss out to improve offensive efficiency

The Rockies may have led the league in runs last year but their offense actually wasn’t that good. Walt Weiss talked to MLB.com about all the runs the club left on the board last season.

Adam Berry / MLB.com // Safe situation: Pitchers try protective cap

Pirates closer Mark Melancon and reliever Jared Hughes tested out a new Major League Baseball-approved protective cap during Sunday’s Spring Training workout. Find out what they had to say about the new “half-caps.”

Twitter’s top Five:

A picture is worth a thousand words. Outside Comiskey Park. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/QzrsMNGuoW

— MLB Cathedrals (@MLBcathedrals) February 24, 2016

peak mls pic.twitter.com/jCFIdiLLld

— J.R. Lind (@jrlind) February 26, 2016

https://twitter.com/DougExeter/status/702369968218906624

Congrats to XT for getting a selfie with the whitest kid in Boulder last night. pic.twitter.com/CwoWcMTrDD

— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) February 25, 2016

Top Tweet:

https://twitter.com/GideonTurk/status/702291615331831808

For you, maybe!

Music for the weekend:

The Grammy-Award winning band Wilco’s 2015 release “Star Wars” was nominated for a Grammy. Here is one of my favorite songs of their’s off of their 1996 record “Being There.”