9:49pm: The Pirates announced that Kang’s surgery will keep him away from competition for an estimated period of six to eight months. That would seem to make a return late in Spring Training the best possible scenario.
The procedure that was ultimately required, per the announcement, was a “reduction/internal fixation of a displaced lateral tibial plateau fracture with a lateral meniscal repair.”
6:06pm: Kang is out for the year with a significant injury, according to a report from Dejan Kovacevic of DKPittsburghSports.com (subscription required). Kang has a torn MCL and meniscus as well as a fractured tibial plateau.
That’s bad news for the playoff-bound Pirates, of course. A recovery timeline remains unclear, but the club’s offseason plans will be heavily impacted by Kang’s outlook.
1:21pm: Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang suffered a knee injury in this afternoon’s contest when Chris Coghlan slid into second base to break up a double play effort. As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes, Kang exited the game with the help of two trainers and did not put any weight on his left leg. To this point, the Pirates have announced only that the knee is being examined, though the injury certainly looked to be fairly serious in nature (video link).
Kang has been one of the best rookies in all of baseball this year, riding a .287/.355/.461 batting line, 15 homers, five steals and solid defense to legitimate Rookie of the Year candidacy. His outstanding rookie campaign has already more than justified the Pirates’ modest $16MM offseason expenditure (when including the posting fee), and a loss for any significant amount of time would be a huge loss for Pittsburgh as the team has pulled within four games of the Cardinals for the NL Central lead.
Pittsburgh is likely to end up in the postseason as a Wild Card team even if they don’t catch the Cardinals, but the difference between staking a season on a one-game playoff versus a best-of-five series is sizable. Without Kang, the Pirates will lean even more heavily on Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer in the infield. While Mercer has a history of reasonably productive seasons, he’s slumped to a .240/.291/.306 batting line in 2015 (including today’s two hits), so the Pirates will hope that Kang’s injury is one from which he can return in relatively short order.
It didn’t look good. Looked hyperextended.
Finally a takeout slide that actually worked!
Didn’t it still end up in a double play?
Yes it was.
Middle infielders are what need protecting, not catchers with that new rule for them.
Base runners only have to be able to reach and touch with their finger tips the bag and can slide toward anywhere else, or severely hurt any defending middle infielder.. SS, 2b and it’s wrong. Baserunner’s going home are trying to score, PERIOD.
Aki Iwamura had his career destroyed the exact same way getting his knee torn up by one of those take out slides at 2b during the 2009 season. He had to wear one of those thick metal braces which wouldn’t allow him lateral movement even his leg was so destroyed by that slide, this after his arrival’s 1st 2 season’s from Japan he had done so well.
Forget home plate, just because mlb wants it’s “poster boy” posey not to get ran over, while standing on top of home plate. Protect the guys defending the bags from baserunners sliding 2-3′ AWAY from the bag just to take them out and make it an auto out.
Is it just a coincidence that Chris Coghlan did this twice? Iwamura suffered the career destroying injury due to Coghlan’s slide, and now Kang suffers the same type of slide. Who knows if Kang will end up with a torn ACL?
Anyone who says that was a clean slide, please watch the replay.
Coghlan slid into the 2nd base late and his legs were up high.
Just remembered that it was a takeout slide he was injured on and not that it was Coghlan who hit him.. Thanks!
I DO remember he wasn’t one of the top 10 favorites among the clubhouse when he was there.. Seems he didn’t like being treated like a rookie during his rookie season, since he was doing so well that gave him special privileges above and beyond..
Aki did have a habit also of hanging in to the last second to make relay throw, or any throw to 2nd base, addressing another poster who commented about Kang possibly sticking around the bag so long. maybe that’s a habit among Far eastern league players? Where there is a bit more professional courtesy and they haven’t yet maybe gotten down the run and fire throw to 1st yet?
I DO remember CoCo Crisp a couple of times sliding up to the bag, then hopping up and once nearly grabbing Aki so he wouldn’t fall down he hit him so hard during the height of the Sox-Rays rivalry 5-6 years ago when Tampa 1st had a cpl good years.
For all of Crisp’s hustling on the field and good guy off of it, on the base path, he will run over any defender and saw him do that fairly often for a small guy. Not good guy characteristics.
Is it just a coincidence that the last two players to get hurt like this came straight over from Asia? American middle infielders are taught how to avoid contact in these situations, and the “neighborhood rule” is there for exactly this reason.
Speaking of Korean MIF who suffered serious knee injuries being taken out at 2nd, Hak-Ju Lee was a top SS prospect before seeing his knee tore up by a slide at 2nd. He hasn’t been the same player since and was just recently DFA’d by the Rays. Maybe if someone like Correa or Russell suffer a serious knee injury at SS MLB will look to start protecting them.
American (north and south) MI’s come up learning how to avoid this contact. You’ll never see Correia or Russell make that throw with the foot planted.
Look at Iwamura’s Wikipedia. There’s an entire paragraph titled “Incidents at 2B” which is dedicated to “takeout slides” that he was involved in on the defensive end. With the unusually high incidence of sliding incidents involving Iwamura, the issue may lie with his form in turning a double play and not the actual player doing the sliding.
Didn’t have the game on until now — clean slide?
It was a normal take out slide that.. well.. took him out. He barely made an attempt to get out of the way.
Thanks.
Usually, if the 2B gets hurt, it was “dirty”. If they didn’t, it was “clean”
My opinion…If the runner can touch the base with their hand, and they don’t slide entirely OVER the bag, that is a clean slide. If someone gets hurt, it was as a hero.
Agreed. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you can still reasonably reach the bag without any additional effort (e.g. lunging for it), you didn’t tackle the infielder, and you didn’t do one of those barrel rolls into 2B, it was clean.
Really, really bad news. Kang plays the game hard, so even though I haven’t seen the play, I doubt that there was either intent or that anyone is upset at the other team about it. What I do know is that Kang has been a catalyst for that team in more ways than one: kind of equivalent to the legend that was Josh Harrison last year. Kang hasn’t just exceeded expectations on the field, he has energized players and fans with his hustle. But most of all, I like watching him because he plays hard, plays smart (outside of the occasional baserunning adventure), and really seems to have fun playing. Get well soon, Kang Show.
Gentlemen…this was a dirty slide. Watch the replay coghlan essentially drop kicks kang in the knee. This is not how you slide to break up a double play. Now the next few games with these clubs will be filled with more silliness
I really wanted to agree with you… but I’ve looked at the clip more than a dozen times and it looks like bad luck. Coghlan goes into a pretty standard take out slide with his leg getting a little higher than it should but more out of momentum than a conscious move. But he then connects with Kang pretty much at a sweet spot. Add to that, Kang really should have been ready to jump for that throw.
It’s bad luck.
If you go into a “take out slide”… your sole purpose was to take out the fielder.
The only bad luck was Kang having his season ended on a play that shouldn’t even be legal.
It didn’t looked like a dirty slide to me. It seems as though Coghlan executed it poorly by sliding in too late. Also, Kang was in a poor position to take that throw meaning that he exposed himself in the worse way possible. Had Coghlan slid properly, Kang more than likely would’ve been taken out regardless because of his positioning over the bag. It is just unfortunate that he suffered a serious injury.
Also, if you look closely, it looks like Coughlan was trying to kick at Kang’s ankle area, expecting the foot to not be planted. Since the foot was planted, Coughlan’s foot kicked off Kang’s foot and went up the shin to the knee. Just bad luck on Coughlan’s part, and poor mechanics by Kang. He had no business staying planted there.
“Coughlan was trying to kick at Kang’s ankle area”
“Just bad luck on Coughlan’s part”
Am I missing something or were your two statements 100% contradictory?
Maybe I’m not phrasing clearly. I don’t think Coughlan had any intent to harm, and I don’t think he wanted to be up around the knee.
I don’t see how he can receive any benefit of the doubt. He clearly had no intention of sliding toward the base (if he did… yikes).
If you slide into a player, you are willing to take on the punishment of hurting a player. It may not have been malicious, but it certainly doesn’t clear Coghlan of any wrongdoing.
Players are instructed to take out the infielder in order to break up the double play. As long as he is able to touch the bag (even with just his hand), it is a clean play (so with that being the case, every player is willing to take on the punishment of hunter another player). Plays like this happen all the time, except most of the time the runner slides properly and the infielder sets up correctly to recieve the throw. Because it was poorly executed by all, Kang unfortunately got injured.
Right. And I think its garbage that baseball allows this. I genuinely don’t care if it happens when the fielder is on the base, but when he’s several feet off the bag, there shouldn’t be a place in the game for it.
Don’t want a double play? Utilize the hit-and-run effectively, or, while it’s easier said than done, don’t hit into them.
Coghlan did the same thing to Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura in 2009
sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4203389
Create a committee of ex players to determine what is going too far on breaking up a double play and hand out punishments as needed, I don’t think any rules can be put in place with out taking that out of the game, like they did with collisions at the plate, which would be pretty sad, the game already lacks hustle. Judge it on a case by case basis, I forgot who it was but someone was so well known for throwing low that guys feared going at him to try breaking up a double play because they would catch it in the face, it might be a start to them self protecting.
I think a simple litmus test can be used: if the player’s slide continued beyond the bag, would his BODY ever cross over the base? If it does not, it is an illegal slide.
I make the point of his body, and not his hand… it shouldn’t matter if a guy can reach out and touch the base, if his body isn’t going to it, it should be illegal.
And I’ll disagree with one point: there’s an enormous difference between playing with hustle and being overly-aggressive. Lots of players play with tremendous hustle and never take players out.
That’s a dirty play by Coghlan. I don’t want to just blindly hate on the Cubs, mostly because I love Maddon as a manager, but that’s bad baseball. Play hard, play with and edge, but don’t attack another player’s legs. He’s faced injuries throughout his career, he should know better. Now next time they play the Pirates he has put his teammates in danger. Hate to see his dirty play end up costing Addison Russell.
I’m sorry, but I simply disagree… and I am a Pirates fan. Listening to the team talking about it after the game, I didn’t hear anybody question the play. It’s a shame that it happened to such a good player (and good guy), but sometimes these things happen.
That was not a dirty play….. It was an accident and a clean slide.
I don’t know if it was dirty or not. Kang didn’t lay blame, which is enough for me. Two things though:
1. Why are middle infielders not protected in some way yet catchers are? The greater risk seems to be at second base.
2. I’m not sure why Joe Maddon felt it wise to crack a joke about the injury after the game yesterday. That was a db move, referring to his injury as plantar fasciitis or “plant hard” fasciitis as some have heard. Hopefully the Pirates heard that, too.
Kang will definitely be missed. The trade for Aramis looks better and better every day. We will be OK if our middle infielders (Harrison, Mercer, Walker) can turn back the clock to 2014. They all need to step it up coming down the stretch.
Technically they are. Catchers aren’t being protected from being slid into. They’re being protected from just being completely obliterated and bowled over. You can still take out a catcher by sliding into him, and you’re still not able to just completely tackle a middle infielder.
What Coghlan did was not a normal slide. He was not trying to gain the base. He threw his body at the shortstops legs to take his legs out. You do the same thing in football, hockey, basketball or soccer, it is illegal in all of those sports.
I played middle infield for a simi pro team and I can say for certain this is a clean takeout slide. When receiving that throw and turning the double play there are ways to protect yourself from the runner and Kang put himself in a bad position. Coghlan could clearly reach the base and didn’t go in spikes up just legs kicked out towards the outfield. In the case of the Iwamura slide in 2009 Iwamura planted his throwing foot directing in front of the bag. That is leaving the base runner no choice but to slide through you. Neither of those slides are dirty and the poor positioning of the fielders are what put them at risk. It’s unfortunate that the results of a good hard baseball play sometimes ends in injury. I generally like the new clear path rules at the plate but the league needs to define those rules better for the umpires sake.
Coghlan was perpendicular to the plate. Barely was going to get his fingertips on the bag. When up high with his legs. Kang had stepped on the bag and went across it and was about 4 feet on the outfield side of the bag and Coghlan made contact with his knee to Kang’s leg. May be within the rules but all that means is it is a stupid rule. If you are not allowed to take out a catcher who has all sorts of body armor on in an effort to score at home, why should you be allowed to throw your body at a fielders knees at any other base? Makes no sense. If Kang had remained on the bag or as Iwamura did, stepped between the the bag and the runner that is one thing. 4 feet on the outfield side of the bag is not putting yourself in the line of the slide. The rules must change to eliminate that play. Never has made sense to me. Far more infielders have spent time on the DL than catchers ever have due to contact. Only reason why they changed the rules for catchers is it was Posey that got hurt. It it were some journeyman guy, the rule would have never changed.
Dirty slide. Same dirty slide happened same night in Tx-Hou game with rookie SS Corriea sliding into Andrus but with no injuries. Slider raises their leg to trip the fielder. Rule is stupid only requiring the slider to be able to touch the base. Calling the DP on a bad slide will help but sliding sideways is NOT a good slide ANYTIME. Automatic ejection and a completed DP call should be the immediate response. I have no doube the MLB gods will make the dumbest and most ignorant response however. They make rules like the players fight.
Idiotic for columnists and players to say this was a good slide. Baseball is not a contact sport. Interference is against the rules at all times. That was not a baseball slide, it was a soccer tackle — and Kang did not have the ball at his feet!
Actually, it this were a soccer play, Coghlan would have received a yellow card at a minimum if no injury had occured and if an injury a red card as when you slide tackle you must contact the ball. Taking the player out would have resulted in the offending player being ejected on the spot. Tackling with your feet up is a major no no in soccer. The take out slides have no place in baseball. Can you imagine if this were last year and Jeter had his leg broken last year or Tulowitszki this year? Rules would have changed already.
If this same play would be illegal in Football, Hockey, Basketball and Soccer, how can it be deemed “clean” in Baseball? Just because the rule has never changed does not make it clean. It makes it with a set of rules that should have been changed years ago. If the fielder is outside the baseline, the runner is not allowed to throw their body at the fielders legs. Not hard. Would have been clean if Kang had stayed on the bag or planted his foot in front of the bag in the line of a straight slide into the bag. To throw one’s body at a 90 degree angle from the base you are going to and in the direction of a fielder 4 ft to the outfield side of the bag is not a clean play.
Are the Pirates now considering adding infield depth for the postseason? The Padres would probably consider trading Clint Barmes, who has a team option for 2016.
Would say no as they have Mercer for SS with Harrison, and Florimon as backups. Ramirez, Harrison or Rodriquez at 3rd, Walker, Harrison and Rodriquez at 2nd, Alvarez, Ramirez, Morse, Ishikawa or Rodriquez at 1st. No needs.
Players traded for during September aren’t eligible for the postseason (as they have to be apart of the organization before September), which means that trading for infield depth is kinda pointless now.
I was thinking the same but since no dire need to add, did not bother to look up to verify. Thanks for the info.