Major League Baseball and the players’ union on Thursday banned “takeout slides” slides by base runners aimed at disrupting a double play.
This rule change is largely the result of Los Angeles second baseman Chase Utley’s hard slide into second base during last year’s playoffs, which ended with New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada breaking his leg.
The new rule, in effect, means runners need to enact a “bona fide slide” into the base—not around it, past it or into a fielder—and must attempt to maintain contact with the base. If it is determined that the runner intentionally slid into someone, he will be ruled out on interference.