Texas Rangers’ Chris Woodward: Controversial slide would be allowed in son’s 13U league
Frustrating.
That was the word that Chris Woodward kept coming back to.
After the Texas Rangers’ home opener Monday at Globe Life Field ended on an overturned video replay review and a 6-4 loss for the home team, Woodward was still fielding questions on the topic.
To recap, Mitch Garver was called out at second base and the game ended on a double play in the 10th inning after replay officials in New York ruled that Garver broke the slide rule by not remaining engaged with the bag and caused contact above the knee with the Colorado Rockies’ Brendan Rodgers.
So instead of trailing by a run with one out and Nathan Lowe at the plate and the tying run at second, the game was over.
“If that’s the precedent they’re going to set, are they going to make that call in Game 7 of the World Series?” Woodward asked. “That’s my question. If they don’t be consistent with it, then they’re going to hear about it from me because we lost a game. Obviously, we didn’t lose the game because of that, but the game ended because of that with Lowe coming up next.”
To be fair, Woodward isn’t stewing over the play. But the play has altered the way he plans on handling similar situations going forward.
“If it’s written in the rules and they’re going to go strictly by word-for-word the rules, then I’m going to manage accordingly as well,” he said.
“So when our infielders feel like that a guy disengaged from the base, we’re going to replay that. And if they’re not consistent with it, I may not be in that game. Why not? If it’s a free out. If it gets you out of the inning without throwing a pitch to the next guy, we’ll take it.”
As a former middle infielder, Woodward has been a proponent of rules aimed at protecting infielders from dirty slides. And he’s been in favor of instant replay to make sure the correct call is made in a variety of scenarios.
“Just get the call right,” he said. “Last night, it was really frustrating.”
Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley called the rule a gray area, especially after what transpired Monday night.
“It’s a rule that’s kind of up for interpretation. I anticipate it’s probably going to incite more challenges on plays similar,” Beasley said. “I’m curious to see if that’s going to stand up, if that will be consistent or Is it truly an interpretation depending on who is in New York at the time. I don’t know. I didn’t see anything wrong with [Garver’s] slide. He was right on top of the bag.”
Beasley is not a fan of the rule, in general.
“I understand the rule. There were some dirty slides. I think everyone watches baseball and understands the game of baseball, knows when it’s a bad slide.”
Plus, Beasley said, Rodgers’ throw was out of his hand before he made contact with Garver.
“It’s a tough one. We try to play within the framework of the rules,” he said. “For me, it’s a gray area. I don’t think a game should end on a gray area.”
Garver’s lead foot hit directly in the middle of second base and he tried to slow down (as players are taught to do) by digging their spikes into the dirt as he reached the bag.
“Mitch Garver tapped him. I don’t think Rodgers spent any time in the trainer’s room last night,” Woodward said. “Mitch Garver protected him. He had no intent to hurt the guy so I don’t think the way the rule was written and what it was designed for, is [what] was applied last night. That’s my only issue with that.”
“But if they’re going to call that, be consistent with it, absolutely. We’ll take some free outs when we can get them.”
Woodward expressed mild concern that MLB is perhaps leaning in the wrong direction with the rule.
“I don’t want our culture to be where [runners] peel off every time. I get mad at my 12-year-old if he didn’t slide,” he said. “If that happened in my son’s 13U game, there’s nothing wrong with what Mitch Garver did. Zero. In my opinion.”
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 5:54 PM.
