How MLB Can Stop Calling Overslides As Out On Replay

It happened against twice last night. Jacob deGrom had what appeared to be a hustle double. Jonathan Villar appeared to have third stolen.

However, upon replay, both players were called out. Villar came off the bag during the slide. deGrom came off the bag when he popped up.

Whenever, this happens there is consternation. Many voice they do not believe that is the purpose of replay. They’d rather it be for the “egregious” call and not the “technicality.”

Honestly, that position is more sour grapes than anything, and it’s a distortion of the real purpose of replay. The real purpose of replay is to get the calls right. The replay in both instances did its job by correcting a wrong call on the field.

Like it or not, both deGrom and Villar should’ve been ruled out. Replay did its job, and the Colorado Rockies were not victimized by a bad call.

Maybe.

The one unintended side effect we see with replays is a transition to how players are tagged on these plays. It used to be a quick snap tag to lead the umpire to believe you got him.

Now, fielders are taught to hold the tag. Essentially, they’re waiting for that split second (or more) the runner comes off the bag to get the out call. However, it’s a little more than that.

Look at that deGrom play again. Trevor Story appears to nudge deGrom, and you can see deGrom stumble a bit and come off the bag. That might’ve been what led to deGrom coming off the bag.

What’s interesting is there is no per se rule which prevents this. A fielder cannot inhibit a runner from running between bases. Catchers are limited in how they block the plate. However, there’s nothing that states a fielder can’t use a tag to push the runner off the base.

Therein lies the problem.

Between the replay rules and the lack of clarification on obstruction, fielders are not just incentivized to hold a tag on the runner. They’re also rewarded for nudging or downright pushing or knocking an otherwise safe runner from the base.

With the trouble scoring runs and producing offense, MLB should be addressing this very issue. It’s an easy fix too.

Since you can’t review “judgment calls,” there needs to be a clear-cut rule. For replays, it should be:

If a runner was called safe on the field, and upon replay it was determined the runner came off the base, the runner shall be deemed safe if a fielder kept contact with the runner for the duration of the separation from the base.

Put another way, fielders can no longer weaponize the tag. They can’t use it to make safe runners out. By doing that, you eliminate the portion of replay which causes derision amongst fans and teams.

By doing this, players who actually should be out are out. That is, unless, their ability to stay on the bag was interfered with by the fielder.

Going back to last night, deGrom would be called safe. Villar probably would be as well. That is, unless, they were initially called out on the field.

We can debate whether that’s preferable course of action. However, it does seem to be a much better course of action than letting runners be knocked off the base and penalized for it.

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