In the seventh inning of NLDS Game 2 between the Mets and Dodgers Saturday night (LAD 5, NYM 2), Chase Utley laid a vicious takeout slide on New York shortstop Ruben Tejada -- one that left Tejada with a fractured leg.
Utley did so in the service of breaking up a double play, and indeed he succeeded, which allowed the Dodgers to keep their rally going. So how did some current and former big-leaguers on Twitter react to Utley's slide? Here's a sampling.
Pedro Martinez:
If you tell Utley to teach kids to slide on second base? Would he teach them the way he slided tonight?
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) October 11, 2015
Chipper Jones:
That was not a slide and that is not how u 'go in hard'!
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) October 11, 2015
Always called him one of my toughest teammates...Utley showing why I always called him a winner!!! #MLBPlayoffs
— Shane Victorino (@ShaneVictorino) October 11, 2015
If that was a superstar shortstop we would have a Tulo Rule being enforced tomorrow
— Justin Upton (@JUST_JUP) October 11, 2015
that was a really weak attempt at a slide by utley
— Jose Reyes (@lamelaza_7) October 11, 2015
Clean or dirty doesn't matter at this point. Dodgers not giving the runs back. Chase will gladly take repercussions.
— Ian Desmond (@IDesmond20) October 11, 2015
Mark Mulder:
Like it or not, Utley plays hard and I would want him on my team.
— Mark Mulder (@markmulder20) October 11, 2015
Jose Molina:
Dirty play by utley
— JOSE MOLINA (@Joeycatch8) October 11, 2015
Alex Cora:
When your back leg lands pass the bag, it's dirty.
— Alex Cora (@ac13alex) October 11, 2015
Jerry Hairston Jr.:
Clean play by chase. Touch bag with the left hand. Hard nosed play. Can't pirouette around the bag in the #postseason #TheShow #MLB
— Jerry Hairston, Jr. (@TheRealJHair) October 11, 2015
Hey @TheRealJHair - remember this? http://t.co/yDsBNgpyi7 Pretty much the same play. Dirty when it's against u but not when it's ur team?
— Brad Ziegler (@BradZiegler) October 11, 2015
Since when was starting your slide past the bag OK? I get that you're playing hard but that was not a slide, that was a dive! #cmonman
— Dalton Pompey (@DaltonPompey) October 11, 2015
If you slide like that at 2nd the runner at first should be out automatically. You can't continue to reward putting players at injury risk
— Jerry Blevins (@JerryBlevins_13) October 11, 2015
Anthony Recker:
I'm very angry about that brutal dirty slide and confused as to how someone can be ruled safe without touching a base????
— Anthony Recker (@Anthony_Recker) October 11, 2015
Will Middlebrooks:
So that's how you break up a play... I always just laid down and let them trip over me.
— Will Middlebrooks (@middlebrooks) October 11, 2015
As you can see, you've got a diversity of opinion among the "played baseball at the highest level" set. Said set typically comes down on the old-line, "that's just baseball" ethos, but the lines aren't so clearly drawn in this one.
Consider this to be ... developing. Very developing.
(USATSI)
