Everything you need to know about the double-play slide rule

BRADENTON, Fla. — It generally takes an incident to spur change and throw an issue into stark relief. Last year, MLB saw two.

Jung Ho Kang and Ruben Tejada both got hurt making plays around second base because of baserunners attempting takeout slides. Tejada’s injury occurred in a playoff game, drawing more attention than Kang’s injury in a Thursday afternoon game in September, but both injuries resonated within the industry.

MLB and the MLBPA announced new rules today to curtail those types of injurious slides. The rules, as written, allow for players to continue to make contact with fielders as the result of a legal slide, but they are no longer allowed to slide with the sole intent of preventing the middle infielder from completing a double play.

“I think the intent was in a good place,” Clint Hurdle said. ”I think it's working for the betterment of the game. You're not going to be able to make any contact above the knee. I think these guys are going to have to slide a little bit earlier, so I think it's a definite step in the right direction."

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Here is the full text of the rules:

A rule governing slides on possible double plays and two additions to the pace of game program have been approved for the 2016 regular season, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) jointly announced today. The World Umpires Association (WUA) also has given its assent to the new regulations.

SLIDES

Under new Rule 6.01(j), which has been added to the existing Rule 6.01 on “Interference, Obstruction, and Catcher Collisions,” slides on potential double plays will require runners to make a bona fide attempt to reach and remain on the base. Runners may still initiate contact with the fielder as a consequence of an otherwise permissible slide. A runner will be specifically prohibited from changing his pathway to the base or utilizing a “roll block” for the purpose of initiating contact with the fielder. Potential violations of Rule 6.01(j) will be reviewable using instant replay. Also reviewable will be “neighborhood play” calls, which previously were exempted from replay review. Rule 6.01(j) reads as follows:

Rule 6.01(j) – Sliding To Bases On Double Play Attempts

If a runner does not engage in a bona fide slide, and initiates (or attempts to make) contact with the fielder for the purpose of breaking up a double play, he should be called for interference under this Rule 6.01. A “bona fide slide” for purposes of Rule 6.01 occurs when the runner:

(1) begins his slide (i.e., makes contact with the ground) before reaching the base;

(2) is able and attempts to reach the base with his hand or foot;

(3) is able and attempts to remain on the base (except home plate) after completion of the slide; and

(4) slides within reach of the base without changing his pathway for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder.

A runner who engages in a “bona fide slide” shall not be called for interference under this Rule 6.01, even in cases where the runner makes contact with the fielder as a consequence of a permissible slide. In addition, interference shall not be called where a runner’s contact with the fielder was caused by the fielder being positioned in (or moving into) the runner’s legal pathway to the base.

Notwithstanding the above, a slide shall not be a “bona fide slide” if a runner engages in a “roll block,” or intentionally initiates (or attempts to initiate) contact with the fielder by elevating and kicking his leg above the fielder’s knee or throwing his arm or his upper body.

If the umpire determines that the runner violated this Rule 6.01(j), the umpire shall declare both the runner and batter-runner out. Note, however, that if the runner has already been put out then the runner on whom the defense was attempting to make a play shall be declared out.

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The upshot: Slide toward the bag, slide early, stay on the bag, don’t lift your leg to trip up an infielder, don’t intentionally deviate from your path to the bag in order to collide with an infielder. Also important: If the infielder is in, or moving toward, the runner’s path to the bag, this rule does not apply.

The rules mirror the rules in college baseball.

Josh Harrison said he supported the rule.

“At the end of the day, there’s life after baseball,” he said. “The last thing you want is for life after baseball to be altered because of something that happened on the field. If these measures will protect us, I’m all for it. You can still break up double plays; it’s about protecting those guys in the middle.”

Jordy Mercer, who was injured on the bases last year, though not strictly in a play of this nature, sounded dubious. ”I don’t know,” he said. “Part of me’s saying, yes, because we obviously want to stay on the field, me personally being hurt and Jung Ho too. It stinks being hurt. No question about it, it does. But the other part of me is, it’s the game of baseball, man. It’s been played like this for a long time. That’s why I’m on the fence about it. It’s different, because you don’t want to change the rules too much to affect the game because it’s been played the same way for so long.”

Kang, through interpreter HK Kim: ”I’m all for it. It’s safe for the players, safe for the players who are in the double play situation. It’s for the players, to protect the players.”

The trade-off for this rule change is that the neighborhood play can now be reviewed. Essentially, we’ll protect middle infielders with this rule, but they now actually have to touch the base rather than getting the benefit of the doubt.

Mercer, who discussed the modification negotiations with MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, said, ”That one’s probably going to be worse than anything. That’s the God’s-honest truth, it is. As a middle infielder, you’re trying to get the ball out as quick as you can to turn a double play. That’s part of it, that’s what you’ve been taught growing up. Now you specifically have to think about making contact with the bag or catching it while your foot’s on the bag before you actually turn a double play. It’s definitely going to be a little thought process into it rather than just going out there and playing like a little kid would.”

Hurdle said he was not sure exactly when during spring training umpires would enforce the rules, and that he expected to hear more clarification soon.