The Yankees' Tyler Austin slid into second base too high and hard for the Red Sox's liking Wednesday night. The Sox responded later in the game with a couple of high, hard fastballs aimed at Austin. One of them connected. Fisticuffs ensued.
Yes, it was another episode involving the unwritten rules of baseball. (Oh, don't roll your eyes: You know this stuff matters to fans.) It was pretty basic: Action, reaction, escalation, no admissions of guilt afterward.
FOSTER: Baseball's dumbest unwritten rules
What if the written rules of baseball (and one rule in particular) were actually to blame for the brawl? That was the thought of a former player who knows the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry inside and out:
That slide before the rule was changed would have not have been in question IMO. The rule is what caused the retaliation and fight. #EliminateTheSlideRule https://t.co/GiDmPbvrBi
— Kevin Youkilis (@GreekGodOfHops) April 12, 2018
Youkilis' assessment seems slightly off, even though Youkilis PLAYED THE GAME (an acknowledgement written louder for the Twitterverse). The guy Austin slid into, Brock Holt, didn't let it . . . slide, rule or no rule. Holt clearly didn't like how Austin went through the bag and clipped his ankle.
This slide from Tyler Austin led to the dugouts clearing in Boston.#Yankees-#RedSox rivalry is alive and well. pic.twitter.com/QquZoA53vu
— Mark Suleymanov (@TheMARKOut1) April 12, 2018
PHOTOS: Ugliest, weirdest brawls since 1976
Brock Holt said he “probably said something he shouldn’t have” to Tyler Austin, “but I wanted him to know it was a bad slide. I think everyone on the field knows that.”
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) April 12, 2018
Even a Hall of Fame infielder knew that, and he also knew what should have (and did) come next:
U slide in with ur spikes up and catch a piece, ur gonna get thrown at young fella. That’s how baseball works. It polices itself, whether people like it or not. That will never change. Love the spirit in both squads though. #Redsox/Yankees
— Chipper Jones (@RealCJ10) April 12, 2018
For the record, Red Sox first-year manager Alex Cora, himself a former infielder, seemed to be closer to Youkilis' thinking in his postgame comments.
Cora felt Austin slide was impermissible based on rule although rule does require a double play attempt and that was ruled not to be one. Cora did indeed attempt a challenge. Cora stopped short of indicating slide was dirty, did not go that far
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) April 12, 2018
Well, skip, several of your players sure saw it as dirty, so you might want to get everyone on the same (unwritten) page.
