Utley suspended 2 games for illegal slide, will appeal

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has been suspended two games for his illegal slide in Game 2 of the NLDS versus the New York Mets.

Joe Torre, Major League Baseball's chief baseball officer, released the following statement regarding the incident that fractured Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada's right fibula:

I recognize that there has been much commentary and many questions regarding the unfortunate play in last night's game in which Ruben Tejada was injured. As I said after the game, the determination of whether a baserunner has intentionally interfered with a player attempting to turn a double play is left to the judgment of the umpire on the field, and that judgment call is not subject to review. I should add that determining where to draw the line between an illegal slide and a legitimate hard play is an extremely difficult call for our umpires.

However, after thoroughly reviewing the play from all conceivable angles, I have concluded that Mr. Utley's action warrants discipline. While I sincerely believe that Mr. Utley had no intention of injuring Ruben Tejada, and was attempting to help his club in a critical situation, I believe his slide was in violation of Official Baseball Rule 5.09(a)(13), which is designed to protect fielders from precisely this type of rolling block that occurs away from the base.

We have been in discussions with the Players Association throughout the year regarding the potential rule changes to better protect middle infielders, and we intend to continue those discussions this offseason.

Rule 5.09(a)(13) reads as follows:

The objective of this rule is to penalize the offensive team for deliberate, unwarranted, unsportsmanlike action by the runner in leaving the baseline for the obvious purpose of crashing the pivot man on a double play, rather than trying to reach the base. Obviously, this is an umpire's judgment play.

The suspension means Utley will miss Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-five series, however, he plans on appealing the ruling, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The New York Post's Joel Sherman is reporting the hearing will take place prior to Game 3 on Monday, so that a final decision on Utley's fate will be determined prior to the pivotal contest.

Here's a look at the controversial slide in question:

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

The Mets also issued a statement in response to the suspension:

The New York Mets completely support the decision made by Major League Baseball to suspend Chase Utley for two games and feel this was the appropriate course of action. With this decision behind us, the team and our fans can now focus on playing winning baseball.