Report: MLB nearing rule change for slides into second base
Major League Baseball is nearing a rule change for slides into second base, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney.
The negotiations regarding the change, which are ongoing between the league and the players’ union, come in response to late-season injuries sustained by the Pirates’ Jung-ho Kang and the Mets’ Ruben Tejada after base runners slid into them while attempting to break up double plays.
According to the report, the sides “will get there” on a rule change, which is focused on having runners either touch second base or make an effort to do so while sliding. Though the union wants to ensure middle infielders are safe, it does not want to prevent players from demonstrating the aggressiveness they traditionally use when sliding.
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Negotiations have also spurred talks about whether questionable slides will require replay review.
