Despite the fact that Chase Utley broke Ruben Tejada’s leg, and despite the fact that MLB has changed its rules regarding sliding practices, the second-baseman will not be suspended at all heading into the 2016 season.
This news comes by way of Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, who reports Utley won his appeal:
Source: Chase Utley will not serve any suspension. He had appealed 2-game suspension for slide into Ruben Tejada in NLDS. #Dodgers #Mets
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) March 6, 2016
This is great news for Utley and his pocketbook. A two-game suspension wouldn’t have hurt the Dodgers much at the start of the season, but it would have taken some bread off Utley’s table. He is signed on a one-year deal with Los Angeles worth $7 million, meaning a two-game suspension would have cost him almost $43,210 in game checks.
One has to imagine Tejada is less than pleased at Utley’s escape from punishment, however. He was clearly upset last October after being taken out so brutally, with Utley purposefully targeting his legs even though his body wasn’t close to second base.
“It’s not professional here at this level to play like that,” Tejada said of the Oct. 10 play that left Tejada with a fractured right leg, via the New York Post. “I [caught] the ball on the other side [of the base] and he came to me right away. He never touched the bag. If he touched the bag and then hit me or something like that, it’s different.”
Still, Tejada and the Mets got the last laugh, heading to the World Series while Utley and the Dodgers watched from home.
Unfortunately, the Mets ran into a juggernaut in the Kansas City Royals, but they’re once again strong contenders for the crown in 2016, as, of course, are the Dodgers. With this in mind, nobody should be surprised if Utley and Tejada are facing one another in October this upcoming postseason after the 2016 regular season is concluded.