PHOENIX -- Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association jointly announced the adoption of two rule changes for 2016, most notably clarification of the interference rule regarding sliding to prevent double plays, in wake of Chase Utley's late slide in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Mets.
The new adoption, Rule 6.01(j) in the rule book, will require runners to make a "bona fide" attempt to slide when breaking up a double play, and must be able to remain on the base into which they are sliding. Contact with fielders is permitted as long as a bona fide slide is made by the runner, achieving these criteria:
- begins his slide (i.