Werth sounds off on slide rule after controversial finish

Add Jayson Werth to the list of players who are unhappy with baseball's new slide rules.

The Washington Nationals outfielder was bitten by the rule Thursday when he was judged to have interfered with New York Mets second baseman Neil Walker on his ninth-inning slide, giving the Mets a double play that essentially clinched a wild 9-7 win for the home side.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)

The call of interference was upheld after Nationals manager Dusty Baker challenged, with the explanation presumably being that Werth over-slid the bag and made contact with Walker. Werth was visibly irate in the dugout, tossing his batting gloves in disgust, and his frustration boiled over following the contest.

"To me, that's a clean slide," Werth told reporters. "It's been a clean slide for over 100 years. There were no spikes involved, I was down early."

By the rules before this season, Werth's statement would be correct. However, rule 6.01 - amended after Chase Utley's slide broke Ruben Tejada's leg last October - states a runner will be called out if he "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."

Werth was ruled to have done that by over-sliding second base and making contact with Walker, albeit unintentionally. The interpretation of the call angered the entire Nationals team, and a report from the New York Daily News' Christian Red suggested umpire Jim Joyce and general manager Mike Rizzo had a shouting match.

Werth just wants consistency in why and when the rule is applied going forward.

"If the rule is just that you can't make contact, then Major League Baseball needs to clarify that," he said.

Werth added, "On some level, I had the same slide earlier in the game. ... It seems like it's inconsistent."