JRutledge,
Based on the ruling made on the play and the deafening silence from MLB, I find myself compelled to agree with your assertion (as well as that of the numerous others who posted in the same vein on this thread).
My post above was merely a statement of fact, not an opinion on the play in question.
It has become clear to me that in MLB it is perfectly legal for a runner to leave his direct path to the base to which he is attempting to advance (perhaps as long as he stays "within reach" of said base - which Erstad certainly did) in order to intentionally crash a fielder who is in posession of the ball in an attempt to knock the ball loose from that fielder so that the fielder cannot complete a legal tag. I used to think differently. I learned something.
I believe I was hung up on the phrase "...unrelated to running the bases..." contained in the MLBUM cite I provided in an earlier post on this thread. Apparently it means something different from what I thought it meant. Now I know.
While I no longer dispute the ruling made on the field, I stand by my previous comments regarding MLB and the NHL.
JMO.
JM
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