Joe Girardi heated over MLB rule that could have hurt opponent
It's been an interesting start to the season for the New York Yankees, but finally getting on the field only led to controversy.
There was the postponement of Opening Day due to weather. There was the John Oliver takedown and then his ensuing ticket stunt that led to a couple of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taking in Tuesday's opener against the Houston Astros.
And then there was this play by Carlos Correa that led to Yankees manager Joe Girardi to play the game under protest.
On the play, Correa dropped a weak hit down the first base line and as he ran out the hit, he did it well inside the line -- blocking Yankees reliever Dellin Betances' throw to first. The ball sailed into right field instead, allowing Jose Altuve to score the go-ahead run from third.
The situation made Girardi wonder aloud if MLB was somehow encouraging teams to assault opposing players. Here's Girardi making his case to reporters (via FTW):
"What's Dellin's option there? Hit him in the back? Is that really want we want? They would have called him out if he hit him. That doesn't make any sense to me, because now you're asking one of our players to assault theirs."
Yeah, we doubt that's explicitly the goal, but this reponse from umpire crew chief Dana DeMuth makes you wonder.
"Do it. Throw it into the runner's back. Because then what's happening? He is impeding," Demuth said when told of Girardi's criticism on the play.
