The budding rivalry between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers reached a new level of weird on Friday due to laser pointers and prearranged markers in the outfield.
Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Mets contacted Major League Baseball upon "learning that the Dodgers intended to mark prearranged defensive positions in the outfield at Citi Field."
Rosenthal added that MLB knows the Dodgers were using a laser rangefinder to mark specific positions in the outfield before the game started and is still collecting information. Los Angeles reportedly hoped to "use markers on the playing surface to define the desired positions for their outfielders," per Rosenthal.
The Dodgers reportedly told the Mets grounds crew they would "dig holes in the outfield with their cleats" if the markers were removed, prompting the grounds crew to alert team officials, who told them to "erase or obliterate anything they saw on the playing surface," according to Rosenthal. He did note the Dodgers "apparently" were not using markers during the series opener, though cameras spotted left fielder Howie Kendrick consulting notes to determine his positioning.
Teams have been employing defensive shifts in the infield for years, though some in MLB have expressed their dissatisfaction with moving players around. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi told ESPN.com's Andrew Marchand in April shifts were "an illegal defense, like basketball" and said "if I were commissioner, they would be illegal."
Fielders position themselves based on where players are more likely to hit the ball and how they are going to be pitched. If a pitcher is going to attack a hitter with fastballs away, it makes sense to rotate the outfield as if the hitter will not try to pull the ball.
The Dodgers were trying to save time for their players by using various predetermined positions for them to stand. The Mets, for obvious reasons, did not want them to do this. It's a game of chicken between two teams, though it is unclear what MLB can do without changing rules about defensive positioning.
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