iIf in doubt about the inherent bliss of baseball, remember that Fernando Tatis Jr. was just criticized for the offense of driving in too many runes. In a situation with bases-laden in the eighth inning of Monday’s game against the Texas Rangers, the riding talented young shortstop of San Diego Padres swung at a 3-0 offer from Juan Nicasio and put the ball in the stands for the first grand slam of his career. The problem, if there was a problem, was that his team was already up 10-3 and his manager Jayce Tingler claimed he was giving him a sign, indicating that he would not have to swing on the field. Instead of rejoicing at the extra runes, Tingler was shocked that his player had broken one of the game’s unwritten rules.
“Just so you know,” Tingler said after the game, “many of our boys have the green light [to swing on] 3-0. But in this game we actually had a bit of a nice lead, and we’re not trying to increase the score or anything like that. “
In baseball tradition, when the batting team finally has a big lead, it’s bad form to swing on that 3-0 field, which is almost always a strike right in the middle. The idea is that by swinging you will embarrass the opposition because the game is theoretically out of reach. Well, you will not find any mention of this in any one book, it’s just part of the Unwritten Rules of Baseball, arcane knowledge handed down in clubhouses and dugouts since time immemorial (like the 19th at least).
If a player breaks the unwritten rules, there are consequences. One of their teammates will normally pay the price by being hit by a pitch on the next at-bat. It’s an immature way to settle disputes, but that’s how things work within the game.
Do not try to look at logic within the rules. In situations like the one above, doing all you can to score is bad and “respect the game.” In other situations, it is usually not difficult to run hard to first base on a routine baseball, regardless of the score or situation, considered “a lack of pressure” and also “respect the game.” Running too fast running home – if, please, hitting your bat – is unnecessary performance and is often the number one cause of recurring hit-by-pitches. If a novice pitcher has a legitimate shot at a no-hitter late in a game, it is a major faux pas for an opposing bat to attempt a bunt to try to get on base. After all, you would not want to spoil your opponent’s personal milestone with everything so gauche as trying to do something to help your team win.
Mercy rules exist in other sports, but not in MLB, in part because the game does not have a running clock. In football, for example, there comes a point where it is essentially impossible to overcome a big enough lead. Baseball does not end until the final. One could argue that as New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, his team has touchdowns late in blowouts, “he runs up the score.” You can not make that argument in baseball when technically there is always a chance to blow a lead, even if you are 11-0 up and the other team still has one out.
This is the main reason why the whole furor about Tatis’ grand slam is absurd. Sure, the Padres had a seven-run lead late in Monday’s game. Yes, they were in an excellent position to win the game, except when things went horribly wrong, but things went horribly wrong in baseball the whole time. Just ask the Florida Marlins of 2003 who allowed the Boston Red Sox to score 14 runs in an inning. Or the New York Mets, who were 10-4 up in the final inning last season and lost 11-10. Heck, Tatis witnessed first-hand the last time a team ran a seven-run deficit: it happened in 2019 when the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies.
ESPN statistics and info
(@ESPNStatsInfo)The big slam of Fernando Tatis Jr. came then 10-3 up in the top of the 8th inning.
The last team to win in the 7+ run trail after 7 innings was the Padres on June 14, 2019 – a game in which Tatis played (beat Rockies 16-12). pic.twitter.com/75vkCwzQXd
In all honesty, some players support Tatis. ‘Keep hitting homers, no matter what the situation is … Keep bringing energy and flash to baseball and making it fun … The only thing you did wrong was apology. Stop that, ” wrote Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer on Twitter.
When he apologized for his ‘break-in’, Tatis said he was aware of the taboo of swinging at a 3-0 pitch when there was a big lead, but he made the very good point that he was not sure is just when the score difference is large enough for the game to be considered out of reach. The problem with “unwritten rules” lies in the fact that they remain unwritten. Different players and teams will inevitably have different sets of standards. In other words, unwritten rules are not really real rules.
AJ Cassavell
(@AJCassavell)The odds of Padres winning were 99.6 percent when Fernando Tatis Jr. came on the plate in the 8th.
99.6 is not 100.
Unwritten rules are a relic from a distant past when baseball was much more of an anarchic free-for-all. The teams had to police themselves on the field because they were back in the late 19thth century there was no one to protect them. There was an interest between teams to prevent bad feelings from escalating into violence. Now, however, the unwritten rules are much more likely to spark conflict than to prevent it. By 2020, there is no reason for teams to throw projectiles at each other if they do not feel respected. Baseball should be an adult game that is played by real adults, especially as many believe that the game has grown out of contact with the times.
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