I thought we were over all this stuff.
If Jose Bautista’s home game and flop in the playoffs in 2015 was the senate of the culture wars of baseball and “playing the game the right way”, it seems we got over the problem. Starting in the postseason 2018 and continuing into 2019, MLB has even run an advertising campaign with Ken Griffey Jr. and asked with “Let the children play.”
However, two incidents on Monday night suggest that what might be called an old-school belief maintains a strong footprint in the game. In the eighth inning of the Padres-Rangers game, Fernando Tatis Jr. swung to a 3-0 lead with a 10-3 lead and belted out a grand slam of Rangers reliever Juan Nicasio. Tatis had missed a take-sign, but the Rangers clearly did not know the swing with the Padres holding such a big lead. Ian Gibaut, a pitcher with a full 24 career innings in the major, replaced Nicasio and threw his first pitch behind Manny Machado’s head.
“I personally did not like it,” said Rangers manager Chris Woodward of Tatis’ 3-0 swing. “But like I said, the norms are challenged on a daily basis. So just because I don’t like it, does not mean it’s not good. I do not think we like it as a group.”
Meanwhile, in the Nationals-Braves game, Juan Soto clubbed a 445-foot ninth-innings home run from Braves reliever Will Smith to give the Nationals a 6-3 lead at the time (the Braves would rally around to win in the bottom of the ninth). Soto admired his home gate for a second or two – certainly not as long as he admired some of his other explosions – and Smith then barked an explorer at Soto, which only led to an even slower run around the bases.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez defended his young superstar after the game. “Will Smith said something to Soto that I do not really appreciate,” Martinez said. “That I just want to let him know, hey, it was not Juan who threw the ball. His job is to hit, so just be quiet and get on the mound. You hit the field, make a better pitch. “
When Buster Olney and I discussed this morning on the Baseball Tonight podcast, here’s the bottom line: Throw a better pitch. Just because you have seven runs does not give you the right to throw a 3-0 fastball in the middle and expect an easy strike. Tatis’ job is to defeat you – regardless of the score, regardless of the count. Soto’s job is to defeat you – and if, God forbid, he has some fun in the process and you do not like it, take Martinez’s advice.
Former Astros pitcher Collin McHugh, who ruled out playing in 2020, had a good tweet on Tatis’ home team:
In this data-driven baseball age, there is nothing to hide. If you have an inclination, it will be exploited. Turning 3-0, to me, is the same as swinging first pitch of an AB. If you do it enough times, a pitcher may not make such a good plan against you.
– Collin McHugh (@Collin_McHugh) August 18, 2020
Tatis was reconciling after the match. “I’ve been in this game since I was a kid,” he said. “I know a lot of unwritten rules. I was a bit lost here. Those experiences, you have to learn. I’ll probably take a pitch next time.”
However, as Woodward points out, those unwritten rules vary. In 2019, players swung on a 3-0 pitch 11.1% of the time. As McHugh said, you would be better aware of possible consequences if you throw a 3-0 pitch in the middle. Even when advancing with five or more runs, players swing at a 3-0 pitch 5.2% of the time. These rates are almost double what they were in 2009, when players swung at 3-0 5.3% of the time and just 2.2% of the time when moving forward with five-plus runs. The game evolves – even if the unwritten rules sometimes do not.
Former league great pitcher Ron Darling, now an analyst for the Mets and MLB Network, tackles the issues with the unwritten rules on MLB Network and defends Tatis. “I’m old enough that I grew up in a game where a lot of older guys had all the power and they would tell you how to act, what to do, and you did what they told you to do, because that’s how it was, ” he said. “Unwritten rules only work if everyone knows the unwritten rules. By their very definition, no one knows an unwritten rule, so what you have now is that you are trying to make a decision that is a 3-0 count in a game with seven runs. off-limit. I just do not agree at all. “
It’s all kind. If Tatis had crushed a fastball first fast or even a 2-0 fastball, no one would raise an eyebrow. But since it was 3-0, did he somehow, what, destroy the integrity of the game? Feelings of Hurt Juan Nicasio? This is just Little League. He tries to compete, to run, to run at home. Sure, a seven-run lead with two innings to go is pretty safe, but you never know. The Giants just blew up another run in the ninth inning.
The argument could be that Tatis is threatening his own teammate. That only comes back in the round of beanball baseball. Gibaut may have threatened syn teammates by throwing behind Machado again. What if the Padres had taken revenge by throwing a Rangers hitter? As for Soto, of course, some of his antics on the plate are practicing the wrong way – the shuffle, the cup adjustments, the air of confidence that does griff border on cockiness. However, it is important to understand the cultural aspects here. Tatis and Soto are both Dominicans, and Latin players often play the game with more flair – not unlike, say, the Korea Baseball Organization, where batflips are almost an artistic aspect of the game.
“He means nothing by what he does,” Martinez of Soto said after Monday’s game. “When he does his shuffle, it’s just to get him to the next pitch. He’s not doing it to show anyone, he’s not – when pitchers start acting the way they do, it’s causing me problems. But he does nothing back. He stands on it and he gets a good pitch and he hits the ball really hard. That’s what you have to do. “
So did Tatis and Soto. Both are just 21 years old and yet emerging alongside Mike Trout as two of the best hitters in the game and as generational players. Tatis hits .305 / .383 / .726 and leads the majors in home runs (11), RBIs (28), runs (22) and total bases (69). If the MVP vote was held today, he would probably become the country winner. Soto missed the start of the season with a positive COVID test, but in his 12 games he hit an absurd .409 / .490 / .955 with seven home runs and more walks than strikeouts. When he debuted at 19 with a .406 OBP in 2018, his approach and flat discipline led to comparison to Ted Williams. With this start he shows that it is not a crazy statement.
Hee @tatis_jr Listen:
1) Keep weighing 3-0 if you want to, regardless of the game situation
2) Keep hitting homers, no matter what the situation is
3) Keep bringing energy and flash to baseball and make it fun
4) The only thing you did wrong was apologize. Stop that.– Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) August 18, 2020
Fernando Tatis continues to play hard and play great, it’s a pleasure to see you play, love your success and the Padres stand up to become a winner. Stay on the road. It’s not easy to hit Hrs. Keep bringing energy you have to the game, we have players just like you. In All Star
– Reggie Jackson (@mroctober) August 18, 2020
That, yes, let the kids play. Let them move on to 3-0. Let them admire their home runs. And opponents had better get used to it, because they will ride a lot more of them.
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