Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo caused a bit of a stir in Pittsburgh after sliding into Pirates catcher Elias Diaz during a double play attempt.  

The bases were loaded and the ball was hit on the ground to short, the shortstop threw the ball and the catcher stepped on the plate for the out.  He then turned to throw the ball to first, but was taken out by a Rizzo slide.

The Pirates cried it was a dirty slide, several soft people on social media cried that it was a dirty slide and there will be several articles written by soft writers that it’s a dirty slide.  The reality is, it’s not a dirty slide.

Even the MLB, who instituted extremely soft sliding rules and restricted collisions with catchers reviewed the play and determined, correctly, that it wasn’t a dirty slide.

Rizzo commented on the play following the game and maintained that it was a good slide, via NBC Sports:

“Just playing hard,” Rizzo said. “Never want to try to hurt someone. They’re playing as hard as they can over there, we’re playing as hard as we can over here. You gotta break up a double play. Fortunately, we broke it up, everyone comes out healthy, but I thought it was a good play.”

The only people who think this is a dirty slide are the softest among us.  Let’s stop allowing them to cry about everything and call for protective nets and rules to protect everyone from everything.

Live a little.  There should be, as there is in all aspects of life, a little danger in the game.  If you don’t want to get taken out by a slide, then get out of the way.  If you can still be reached, you didn’t get far enough out of the way.