Page 21 - atoday

SPORTS A21
New MLB rule: Glove laces no longer good enough for a tag
NEW YORK (AP) — Major
League Baseball has made
several minor rule changes
for this season, including
one that covers tag plays
when a runner is touched
only by the laces of a field-
er’s glove.
The tweaks were an-
nounced Friday in an
11-minute video produced
by MLB.
The video showed a play
in which Houston second
baseman Jose Altuve
touched a sliding runner
with the hanging laces
from his glove. In the past,
Blackhawks’ Keith suspended 6 games for high-sticking
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Chi-
cago Blackhawks will have
to start the playoffs with-
out reigning playoff MVP
Duncan Keith, who was
suspended six games for
“dangerously and violent-
ly” high-sticking Minnesota
Wild forward Charlie Coyle.
Keith will miss the final five Kings forward Jeff Carter in
games of the regular sea-
son and the first game of
the Blackhawks’ first-round
playoff series.
While on his back on the
ice, Keith struck Coyle in
the face with his stick, an
action Patrick Burke of the
NHL’s department of play-
er safety called “an inten-
Catcher Teagarden suspended
80 games for drug violation
NEW YORK (AP) — Former
major league catcher Tay-
lor Teagarden, among the
athletes accused of using
performance-enhancing
drugs in a December re-
port by Al Jazeera, was
suspended for 80 games
on Friday by Major League
Baseball. In its announce-
ment, MLB said Teagarden
violated the big league
drug program but did not
specify the nature of the
violation. Al Jazeera ac-
cused several high-profile
athletes of using perfor-
mance-enhancing drugs,
that was called an out;
now, that won’t be enough
to count as a tag.
That kind of play drew at-
tention when it was seen on
slow-motion replays during
umpire reviews. The Playing
Rules Committee discussed
all of the changes, which
were approved by owners,
umpires and the players’
union.
Also, the top-to-bottom
length of a first baseman’s
mitt and a fielder’s glove
was increased by an inch
to 13 inchesq
.
tional and retaliatory act of
violence by a player with a
history of using his stick as a ley Cup-champion Black-
weapon” in the video an-
nouncing the suspension.
Keith has been suspended
twice before, including for
a similar incident when he
deliberately hit Los Angeles
the face with his stick dur-
ing the 2013 Western Con-
ference final.
Chicago’s top defense-
man and the reigning Conn
Smythe Trophy winner,
Keith will forfeit $148,883
and won’t be available for
the stretch run and start of
the playoffs. Keith averag-
among them Philadelphia
first baseman Ryan How-
ard, Washington first base-
man Ryan Zimmerman and
then Denver quarterback
Peyton Manning. Manning
denied the allegations,
and William Burck, a lawyer
for Howard and Zimmer-
man, called the charges
“outright lies.” Al Jazeera
broadcast video of Teagar-
den talking about taking a
banned substance called
Delta-2. A member of Tex-
as’ 2005 NCAA champi-
onship team, Teagarden
was selected by the Texas
Saturday 2 April 2016
Kansas City Royals’ Kendrys Morales is tagged out in a rundown by San Francisco Giants second
baseman Joe Panik on a ball hit by Salvador Perez in the second inning of a spring training base-
ball game Tuesday, March 29, 2016, in Surprise, Ariz. Eric Hosmer scored on the play. The Royals
won 16-10.
Associated Press
es over 25 minutes a game would take. Dennis Wide- of this kind,” Burke said.
for the defending Stan- man recently appealed Keith then lifted his stick into
a 20-game suspension to Coyle’s face, which drew a
hawks, who are currently Bettman and a neutral ar- 10-minute major penalty on
in third place in the Central bitrator, and while it was the ice for intent to injure.
Division. reduced to 10, the Calgary “Keith is looking directly at
They’ll have to continue on Flames defenseman had his opponent, winds his arm
without Keith, as expected already served 19. back and then whips it for-
after he was offered an Midway through the first ward in a chopping motion
in-person hearing by the period of a game Tuesday, aimed at Coyle’s face,”
NHL. Even though Keith in- Coyle knocked Keith to the Burke said. “Keith is in per-
stead had a phone hear- ice, which replays showed fect control of his stick at
ing Friday afternoon, that was the result of a shove all times and this motion
offer opened the door for a and entangled sticks. The is made intentionally, not
suspension of six games or league considered Coyle’s recklessly.”
more. actions “irrelevant” to the Coyle needed medical at-
Keith could appeal the sus- situation. tention but returned to the
pension to Commissioner “Even if Coyle tripped Keith game and finished it, some-
Gary Bettman, but it’s not intentionally, it would not in thing that factored into the
clear how long that process any way excuse a response length of the suspension.q
Rangers in the third round This is a Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014 file photo of catcher Taylor
of that year’s amateur Teagarden of the New York Mets baseball team. This image
draft. He has a .202 batting reflects the Mets active roster when this image was taken.
average with 21 homers
and 70 RBIs in eight seasons Associated Press
with the Rangers (2008-11),
Baltimore (2012-13), the
New York Mets (2014) and
the Chicago Cubs (2015).
The 32-year-old Teagar-
den played eight games
with the Cubs last year and
spent the majority of the
season at Triple-A Iowa. He
became a free agent in
October when he refused
an outright assignment to
the minors.q