Chase Utley performed what many believed to be an illegal slide last week, barreling into NY Mets second baseman Ruben Tejada, which resulted in a broken leg for the infielder. After a few days of deliberation, the MLB has officially suspended Utley for two games for the slide, which means he'll miss games three and four of the current 2015 playoffs' games for the LA Dodgers. Tejada is clearly out for the remainder of the year with his injury. Utley is expected to appeal the suspension. Read more on this news below.
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Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre announced the ruling late this weekend, which made it clear that the slide was indeed illegal, despite Utley's intentions - which we assume weren't the aim to break the leg of Tejada. "I believe his slide was in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09 (a)(13), which is designated to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base," he said, according to UPROXX.
You can check out the full statement from Torre in the press release regarding this suspension right here:
LAD INF Utley has been suspended for Games 3 & 4 of NLDS as a result of his illegal slide in the 7th inning on Sat. pic.twitter.com/ktAjmXWFaR — MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) October 12, 2015
According to the NY Post, Utley has already responded to the news.
"The Players Association and my agent are handling the appeals process," he said in a statement released early this week. "I have nothing more to say other than to reiterate that I feel terrible about Ruben's injury. Now my teammates and I are focused on Game 3 and doing everything we can to win this series."
We'll expect more news developing on this suspension as the week continues.
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