By Tim Britton, Will Sammon and C. Trent Rosecrans
NEW YORK — A quiet Opening Day contest between the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers was enlivened by a benches-clearing incident in the eighth inning.
During a forced out by Willy Adames at second base, Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil became irritated by Rhys Hoskins’ slide in the bag and immediately began pointing at Hoskins and yelling at him. McNeil had fumbled the ball on the handoff, losing a throw on a double play, and it appeared Hoskins had caught the infielder’s left ankle with his spikes beyond the bag.
The benches cleared unenthusiastically and a replay confirmed that Hoskins’ slide into the base was legal.
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✅ Clearance of benches
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Although this is Hoskins’ first game with the Brewers, he and the Mets have a history dating back to his days with the Philadelphia Phillies. McNeil said the history between him and Hoskins extends beyond the homer’s slow trot and includes “some pretty questionable slides at second base.” McNeil said he remembers some in the past who “definitely weren’t OK.”
“We had a little history, so I knew there was a chance it could happen like that, and I just didn’t like the slide,” McNeil said. “I wasn’t trying to turn the double play at all. I was just trying to catch the ball. There was no need to break it. I didn’t like it.
Hoskins said he was just trying to keep the round alive.
“I’m just trying to play baseball, right?” Hoskins said. “We had a chance in the eighth with a runner tacking on another run. And the last thing I want to do is give them a clear lane to make a double play. So somebody took – McNeil took – (exception) to my slide, but I didn’t really thought about it a lot, to be honest.
“I ended up hitting him. But that’s what happens with a slow-developing game and we try to make sure he doesn’t double play.”
Hoskins said he stayed on the dirt an extra moment — “whatever McNeil needed to get out, let him get out,” he said — but he couldn’t repeat what McNeil told him.
“A few choice words,” Hoskins said. “But I played a lot in this stadium. He just seems to complain when things aren’t going well, and I think this was one of those times. Maybe I lost a little bit in the heat of the game, but I think it’s just about playing the game hard and playing it the right way.
Hoskins guessed that McNeil must have a problem with him because of their history in Mets vs. Phillies games, which are often hotly contested.
“I’m sure of it, because that’s how rivalries go, especially with me or just the team I was on,” he said. “I’m not trying to hurt the guy, the studs are low. Obviously (MLB) felt it was a safe slide. And again, I’m just trying to protect my guy who hit the ball on the ground and continue the inning.
McNeil was also bothered by the slide delay and being doped. Hoskins hit McNeil’s right leg, which was off base, and because Brett Baty’s throw was weak and Adames ran well, McNeil never considered a double play attempt.
Shortstop Francisco Lindor supported McNeil’s reaction.
“He slipped a little late,” Lindor said. “It slid straight through the base but I felt it was a little late…. I wish it would have slipped a little sooner. As for Jeff’s reaction, I’m with him 100 percent.
McNeil said he hoped the altercation would not lead to retaliation and said he was focused on trying to win the series.
The league implemented changes to the moving rule after a 2015 season in which a number of infielders were injured by sliding baserunners while covering second base. According to MLB, when sliding into a base in an attempt to break up a double play, a runner must make a “bona fide slide.”
This is defined as the runner making contact with the ground before reaching base, being able to reach base with one hand or foot, being able to remain on base at the end of the slide (except at home plate ) and not changing. his way in order to initiate contact with a defensive player. The rules are meant to reflect a spirit of player safety.
“That’s what’s confusing,” McNeil said. “I don’t really know what the rules are. What is a clean slide? When is it too late? When is it too early? Should you just stay on base? There can be some pretty ugly slides. This game is about player safety. Nobody wants to be hurt.
For McNeil, slides fall into a few categories: dirty, clean and in-between. He acknowledged that players want to play hard. When asked where he placed Hoskins’ slide, McNeil replied, “It was a legal slide, so I just want to leave it at that.” »
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(Photo by Jeff McNeil (left): Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)