Gibbons rips slide rule: Maybe we'll wear 'dresses'

Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons ripped baseball's new slide rules on double plays during a postgame tirade Tuesday, describing the change as an "embarrassment" for the game after a call at second base thwarted his club's ninth-inning rally.

"Maybe we'll come out wearing dresses tomorrow," Gibbons told reporters after Toronto's 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. "Maybe that's what everybody's looking for."

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Trailing by a run with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, the Blue Jays momentarily took the lead when Logan Forsythe's throwing error allowed Toronto to score two runs. The Rays, however, argued that Jose Bautista's slide into second base violated the league's new rules because his left arm made contact with Forsythe. Replay umpires in New York agreed, ruling that Bautista had illegally hindered Forsythe's ability to make the throw, and the Rays were credited with the game-ending double play.

"Are we trying to turn the game into a joke? I mean, really. That was flat out embarrassing," Gibbons told reporters. "That cost us an opportunity to win a major league game. Was that the intent? Well, that's probably the results you're going to get. I was talking to some guys in spring training, said wait until it happens when it ends a game, a major league game. It truly is an embarrassment."

Following a pair of serious injuries late last season, MLB introduced Rule 6.01(j) in February, which states that "slides on potential double plays will require runners to make a bona fide attempt to reach and remain on the base." Though Bautista didn't appear to violate any of the four criteria of a "bona fide slide," any baserunner who intentionally initiates contact with a fielder by "throwing his arm" will also be considered in violation of the new rule.