When Mark Teixeira barreled over Angels catcher Bobby Wilson on Friday night, I didn’t even expect it to be discussed after the inning ended.
Instead, Teixeira’s been called out by ex-teammate Torii Hunter.
"He had the plate, we know that. He could have slid feet-first or gone to the right and swiped it with his hand," Hunter said. "But that's baseball. Sometimes, catchers get hit. We can sit here and analyze all day if it was dirty or bad, but there's nothing we can do about it.
Judging from the video, Teixeira has no idea whether he was going to beat the throw or not, or by how much.
The throw looks a little late from our view, but that doesn’t affect the type of slide Teixeira is going to do. A player rounding third decides what type of slide he’s going to do halfway down the third base line — not at the last second. Put yourself in his shoes, all he sees is a catcher ready to receive a throw and tag him out.
It’s unfortunate Wilson wound up on the disabled list, but hey, that’s baseball. I don’t think he was in proper position to block the plate, which might have caused him to hurt his ankle. Pete Rose bowled over a young catcher, Ray Fosse, in the 1970 All-Star game, which essentially was an exhibition game. It’s part of the game.
If there were one player on the Yankees who you would never question the way he plays the game, it would have to be Derek Jeter or Teixeira.
Both teams’ managers are former major league catchers, and neither had problems with Teixeira’s choice to take out Wilson. That alone should really end this discussion.
And no, as my roommate asked, Teixeira will not be suspended for this play. Why? Because it’s not against the rules. It’s a part of the game!
