Mets playoffs: Don Mattingly thinks fans would give David Wright a pass for a slide like Chase Utley's

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters Sunday that David Wright would get away with a slide like the one that broke the leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, though Chase Utley couldn't.

"If it would have been their guy, they would be saying, ‘David Wright, hey, he’s a gamer; he went after him. That’s the way you’ve got to play,’" Mattingly said. "But it’s our guy; it’s different. So I know how the kind of the New York media gets a little bit going, and it gets dramatic, but for me you can’t have it both ways. If David would have done it, it wouldn’t have been any problem here in New York." Mattingly added that the only reason the play is being discussed is that the slide injured Tejada.

Well, David Wright did go after Chase Utley once upon a time with a hard slide, though one not nearly as egregious as Utley's. It was the fourth inning of the Mets' 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on June 21, 2013. After an RBI single, Wright took out Utley, who was trying to turn a double play on Marlon Byrd.

Here's David Wright, breaking up a double play by coming out of his slide right into Chase Utley's crotch.

How does this compare to Utley's slide on Tejada? Some observations:

1. Unlike Utley, Wright slid before the base.
2. Unlike Utley, Wright could clearly reach the base.
3. Unlike Utley, Wright actually slid.