Baseball's Unwritten Rules

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coolhandgopher

coolhandgopher

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I saw Fernando Tatis Jr. trending this morning, figuring baseball's newest young superstar had done something spectacular in a game. Turns out he did (grand slam, second HR of the game), but the reason his name is flashing up is for perhaps the most stupid of unwritten rules, one I wasn't aware of-nor was Tatis, Jr., who stated in the post-game that he'd grown up in the game and thought he knew all the unwritten rules, but wasn't aware that you should not swing for the fences on a 3-0 count when your team is up big.

So, Tatis Jr. is getting barked at by the Ranger's manager, the next Padre gets throw at, and Tatis' own manager says in the post-game interview that he missed the sign that he should have taken the pitch rather than swing away. After all that, Tatis Jr. felt compelled to apologize.

I remember as a kid reading about some player (Boggs, Gwynn, Puck, can't recall now) and how he never gave up an at-bat-how a hallmark was how he approached every at-bat, no matter the score or the situation with the same locked-in approach and how respected he was around the league for that approach. So, what's the difference here? And what the hell is his own manager during tossing him under the bus after the game??? He misses a sign, you talk to him in private after the game or before today's game, but what sort of BS is hanging your 20 year old superstar in the present out to dry to the media?

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect this is a page from the pro wrestling marketing handbook, where some overwrought controversy is drummed up to bring attention to Tatis Jr., but no this is baseball being baseball. Put your head down and play like Mike Trout and remain as anonymous as Trout is to the sporting world.
 

I should note, Tatis' father holds one of my favorite baseball records ever, one unlikely to ever be tied and certainly will never be surpassed:
He's the only player to have ever hit two grand slams in the same inning of a game.
 

OK. I've been arguing about this on Twitter all morning.

here's the deal - from the perspective of a 65-year old baseball fan.

San Diego was up 10-3 in the 8th inning. Bases loaded, 3-0 count when Tatis hit the grand slam.

The unwritten rule is that you don't swing at a 3-0 pitch in that situation - big lead late in the game.
the pitcher is going to throw a "get it over" fastball - virtually a batting practice level pitch.

the thing is, as I see it - that pitch does not end the at-bat (unless it's ball 4). assuming Tatis takes the pitch for the "automatic" strike, it's still a 3-1 count. if he hits the slam on a 3-1 pitch in that situation, nobody says a word. he's a good hitter. he's perfectly capable of hitting a HR on a 3-1 count.
and, in all likelihood, he's going to get a 3-1 pitch that isn't much different than 3-0. the pitcher does not want to walk in a run in that situation, so he's going to throw something in the zone.

so the unwritten rule is don't do something to show up or embarrass the other team in that situation - big lead late in the game.

same thing if a runner steals a base late in a game with a big lead, or a team puts down a squeeze bunt late in the game with a big lead. it's just not considered the 'right' way to play the game.

In my book, no different than a football team that has a big lead in the 4th quarter and runs a trick play, or throws a bomb on 3rd-and-short. Or goes for a 2-pt conversion because "the card said so."
(rot in hell, Bret Bulimia....)
 

I attended the Rochester Honkers (Northwoods League) game on Sunday against the Waterloo Bucks. Strong starting pitching, but the Bucks pretty much had their way against the Honkers relievers. In the top of the 8th, Waterloo was up 6-1 and had runners on first & third. While the pitcher was still in his stance (hadn't started his delivery yet), the runner on first started towards second and was easily contained in a hotbox. The runner on third started home, so they threw home. Both runners were safe at home & second.

Obviously stealing second is expected in that situation, but that's not what this looked like. It seemed more like an attempt to catch the freshman pitcher making his third game appearance off guard. I don't think this specifically is an unwritten rule, just seemed like a dick move by the visitors. Bucks won 10-1.

P.S. The Northwoods League is a fun Midwest summer league for college players. Good mix of players from D1 to community college from all over the nation. MN has teams in Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, and Willmar.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
OK. I've been arguing about this on Twitter all morning.

here's the deal - from the perspective of a 65-year old baseball fan.

San Diego was up 10-3 in the 8th inning. Bases loaded, 3-0 count when Tatis hit the grand slam.

The unwritten rule is that you don't swing at a 3-0 pitch in that situation - big lead late in the game.
the pitcher is going to throw a "get it over" fastball - virtually a batting practice level pitch.

the thing is, as I see it - that pitch does not end the at-bat (unless it's ball 4). assuming Tatis takes the pitch for the "automatic" strike, it's still a 3-1 count. if he hits the slam on a 3-1 pitch in that situation, nobody says a word. he's a good hitter. he's perfectly capable of hitting a HR on a 3-1 count.
and, in all likelihood, he's going to get a 3-1 pitch that isn't much different than 3-0. the pitcher does not want to walk in a run in that situation, so he's going to throw something in the zone.

so the unwritten rule is don't do something to show up or embarrass the other team in that situation - big lead late in the game.

same thing if a runner steals a base late in a game with a big lead, or a team puts down a squeeze bunt late in the game with a big lead. it's just not considered the 'right' way to play the game.

In my book, no different than a football team that has a big lead in the 4th quarter and runs a trick play, or throws a bomb on 3rd-and-short. Or goes for a 2-pt conversion because "the card said so."
(rot in hell, Bret Bulimia....)
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And what is the line? What lead is the right amount? 5 runs? 10 runs? Teams have come back from that deficit in that situation before.

Baseball is so stupid and just does whatever it can to kill itself every year. Get over it. If he isn't allowed to swing, then the Rangers should come out of the dugout when the lead is big enough to their satisfaction and say they are giving up. Until they do that, this is just complete bullshit. Year after year...

Write the "Unwritten Rules" down. That is the other option. Then everyone will know how to act so none of these big tough sports guys get their feelings hurt.
 


WilliamsArenaGuy said:
And what is the line? What lead is the right amount? 5 runs? 10 runs? Teams have come back from that deficit in that situation before.

Baseball is so stupid and just does whatever it can to kill itself every year. Get over it. If he isn't allowed to swing, then the Rangers should come out of the dugout when the lead is big enough to their satisfaction and say they are giving up. Until they do that, this is just complete bullshit. Year after year...

Write the "Unwritten Rules" down. That is the other option. Then everyone will know how to act so none of these big tough sports guys get their feelings hurt.
Click to expand...


Here's the point. If Tatis takes the pitch - he's still at bat, the bases are still loaded, and he has a 3-1 count - which is baseball parlance is called a "hitter's count."

People are acting like Tatis had no other options - he had to swing 3-0. And that is simply not true.

if he takes the pitch, it's 3-1. Bases loaded. pitcher does not want to walk in a run. So, tatis is going to get a good pitch to hit at 3-1. if he misses it, he will probably get something similar on 3-2 - because the bases are still loaded and the pitcher doesn't want to walk in a run.

And even if he makes an out - his team is still up 10-3 in the 8th inning. He had choices.

and, for people who missed it - his manager said the take sign was on, and Tatis missed it.
 

coolhandgopher said:
I should note, Tatis' father holds one of my favorite baseball records ever, one unlikely to ever be tied and certainly will never be surpassed:
He's the only player to have ever hit two grand slams in the same inning of a game.
Click to expand...
And he holds for the record for most RBI's in one inning with 8.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Here's the point. If Tatis takes the pitch - he's still at bat, the bases are still loaded, and he has a 3-1 count - which is baseball parlance is called a "hitter's count."

People are acting like Tatis had no other options - he had to swing 3-0. And that is simply not true.

if he takes the pitch, it's 3-1. Bases loaded. pitcher does not want to walk in a run. So, tatis is going to get a good pitch to hit at 3-1. if he misses it, he will probably get something similar on 3-2 - because the bases are still loaded and the pitcher doesn't want to walk in a run.

And even if he makes an out - his team is still up 10-3 in the 8th inning. He had choices.

and, for people who missed it - his manager said the take sign was on, and Tatis missed it.
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SON, I'm sorry, but I just find this whole argument ridiculous and whenever the traditionalists/old school/unwritten rules folks start explaining the logic, it just sounds worse to me.

I don't see that Tatis had no other option. But that's the argument being offered on your side-his only option on 3-0 is to leave the bat on his shoulder. Instead, he got a pitch he could drive and he did just that, but we've heard for the longest time that the most difficult thing in sports is to hit a baseball. How many times have we seen players in similar situations, except that the game is tighter, get served up an "easy" pitch and they pop it up or send it foul or send it to the warning track?

Here's the thing that bugs me with the baseball fanatics-at the same time they talk about the best thing about the game is that it doesn't have a clock like the other sports, that a winner cannot be crowned until 27 outs are recorded, and how that allows for the improbable and impossible to occur. . .but when someone breaks one of these ridiculous rules, they're castigated for not altering their approach to lessen their typical effort.

And I don't see this being akin to the other examples you give-the baseball examples and the football examples are putting particular plays into motion; what Tatis did was swing the bat at a baseball that was travelling over 90 mph (I imagine), an action where the result ends positively less than half the time. More accurately, it's like a three point specialist taking an open shot or a quarterback throwing twenty yards downfield when their respective teams have big 4th quarter leads, nearly insurmountable, but not quite in the bag yet. Tatis was doing what he's put on the baseball field to do and he succeeded.
 

Aaron Gleeman asked Rocco Baldelli about it, and this was his response:
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Was the brushback as much for how Tatis showboated after the Slam? I thought that's what I saw on PTI. Not saying that justifies it.

In the NL at least pitchers would potentially have to face the music themselves, but with the universal DH this year that is not the case.
 

If I'm not mistaken, as recently as last year a team surrendered a 7-run lead after the 7th inning.

Next time Tatis is in that situation he should go up to bat without a bat.
 

I tried to find some numbers on how often batters swing at a 3-0 pitch.

Best I found was a study that covered the seasons from 2009-2014. During that period, according to the author, hitters swung at 3-0 pitches about 7% of the time - which is actually a lot higher than I expected.

the conventional wisdom for the baseball purists goes like this:

If you take the 3-0 pitch, and it misses the zone, you get a walk.
if the 3-0 pitch is a strike, then you're still sitting 3-1. especially with the bases loaded, the pitcher does not want to issue a walk, so whatever he threw on 3-0, he's probably going to throw something similar on 3-1. If you miss the 3-1 pitch, you have another shot on 3-2. Or, you can still draw that walk.

and, FWIW - Imagine that Tatis swings on 3-0 and hits into a double play. would people be praising him for being gutsy, or would they be saying "he should have taken the pitch."
 

I hope in future situations like this, they are just honest and tell the fans to go home, as they have stopped trying to be interesting.
Don't want to give up a grandy? Try not sucking.
 



As far as unwritten rules, I think there should be more grandstanding (okay, some would say 'taunting') for some things.

A perfect example was in the middle of Kepler's string of HR's against Cleveland's Trevor Bauer; he could have done it somewhat jokingly but I remember thinking how awesome it would have been if after one or two of the later ones, Kepler left home plate on his jog around the bases yelling at Bauer "I OWN you, dude!! I totally OWN you!"

Then we would have seen another unwritten rule when Bauer retaliated against the next batter. Whatever....
 

It was a 7 run game in the top of the 8th inning. Remember when the Twins scored 7 runs in the 9th back in 2015 against Detroit? Dozier hit the game winning home run.

Baseball is different in that there isn't a clock. The Rangers had 22.2% of their outs still left, that's almost the equivalent of a quarter in football. Now if it was like a 15 run lead, that's a bit different. 7 runs isn't really that much, especially in this day and age.
 

Swing away, Tatis. Unwritten rules in baseball are BS, and are merely relics that the old timers cling to. I wouldn’t be showboating after hitting it, but I have no problem with him swinging for the fences.

Especially when you consider how much money is on the line, and padding your stats can help you come the next contract. Like it or not, that’s how these things work.
 

This is strange because I thought the unwritten rule was you don't bunt when you have a huge lead, or when a pitcher has a no hitter going late and it's not close. I don't believe I've ever heard this variation. I agree with those of you commenting that 7 runs is not actually that big a difference.
 

No lead is big enough in the time of homer ball. Stupid unwritten rule (as most are by nature).
 

Frink said:
This is strange because I thought the unwritten rule was you don't bunt when you have a huge lead, or when a pitcher has a no hitter going late and it's not close. I don't believe I've ever heard this variation. I agree with those of you commenting that 7 runs is not actually that big a difference.
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I think the idea is that hitters do really well when putting the ball in play on 3-0 counts. It's the highers BA and OPS of any count. But the thing is the BA and OPS in 3-1 counts isn't that much lower. So for some reason 3-0 is bad but 3-1 isn't a big deal.
 

Baseball is the only sport I played in high school and a small town field is named after my grandpa, so I can confidentially say that baseball players are pansies. They react like kids when one of their precious unwritten rules is broken. Man up.

There is an element to running up the score in any sport which I sympathize with, however in this case there is virtually no difference between a 3-0 count and 3-1 from the hitter's perspective, and like someone mentioned if this happened on a 3-1 count there would be no issue.
 

I've been thinking of Frank Thomas, the White Sox HOF slugger, throughout this discussion of when it's okay to swing away. Thomas almost always took the first pitch-no matter the game, the situation, the at-bat, I recall he always took the first pitch. But on occasion, he would swing away on that first pitch and I remember watching SportsCenter where he swung away and hit a home run. I imagine somewhere in the curmudgeon universe, there was a cranky sportswriter or diehard fan who was complaining because he "fooled" the pitcher and that wasn't fair.
 

Sorry, but if you're a professional, there are no "unwritten rules". We're not protecting children here from getting their feelings hurt.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
Sorry, but if you're a professional, there are no "unwritten rules". We're not protecting children here from getting their feelings hurt.
Click to expand...

What about the notion that there is a 'right way' and a 'wrong way' to play the game? Like Pete Rose running over Ray Fosse in an all-star game - an injury that Fosse never really recovered from. Was it 'worth it' to win a glorified exhibition game?

Or have we completely discarded any notions of sportsmanship? of respecting the game and respecting your opponent?

Just because you can do something, that does not mean that it's always the right thing to do.
 






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