bgfield
08-15-2007, 02:58 PM
This has always been a pet peeve of mind. I understand the purpose of sliding into second base to break up a double play, and I actually don't mind that part of it, as long as you don't go all Ty Cobb on the guy and try to spike him.
What DOES bother me is when a defender has moved away from the bag (usually towards the outfield side of it) to make his throw and the runner still slides into him, completely missing second base (and not trying to hit it). I've noticed a few teams do that (haven't noticed the O's do that much), and Jose Molina just did it to Miguel Tejada in today's game when Tejada lost the ball trying to get it out of his glove.
Not only is it dangerous to the fielder, I just feel it's going a bit too far. If this is legal, why don't we just allow runners to plow into defenders to break up a double play?
What DOES bother me is when a defender has moved away from the bag (usually towards the outfield side of it) to make his throw and the runner still slides into him, completely missing second base (and not trying to hit it). I've noticed a few teams do that (haven't noticed the O's do that much), and Jose Molina just did it to Miguel Tejada in today's game when Tejada lost the ball trying to get it out of his glove.
Not only is it dangerous to the fielder, I just feel it's going a bit too far. If this is legal, why don't we just allow runners to plow into defenders to break up a double play?