Bona Fide Slide Rule May Take Some Adjustment (But Grown Men Shouldn’t Say “Wussification”)

Those of us who attended last Friday’s Brewers/Astros game had a couple of interesting experiences.  One, we found out it’s best to be prepared to scrape ice off your car after leaving Miller Park in April.  Two, we got to see the consequences of MLB’s bona fide slide rule play out in real time.

It’s hard to complain about a call that goes your team’s way, but I can see how Astros fans and players might be less likely to embrace this change. Here’s how Astros ace Dallas Keuchel reacted to his team’s loss Friday:

Are we even playing baseball anymore??? #unbelievable

— Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) April 9, 2016

It’s fair to have some sympathy for anyone adjusting to a significant change in his industry’s practices.  At the same time…c’mon, Dallas.  In the last three seasons, MLB has expanded replay, banned catchers from blocking the plate, and made hitters keep one foot in the batter’s box.  These rules have not always been consistently enforced, but it’s clear that MLB is in a tinkering mode right now.  It can be annoying for fans as well, but the players at least have a union that represents their interests as far as these rule changes go.  No one asked fans’ opinions when MLB forced useless metal detectors on us in 2015.

The game is going to keep changing, and it will still be baseball.  It used to take nine balls to walk a batter, and you can imagine traditionalists being anguished over the four-ball walk being instituted back in 1889.  “Are we even playing baseball anymore?” they cried as they ran through the streets, yelling in the faces of strangers who were minding their own business – i.e., the 19th century equivalent of tweeting.  The game has gone through much more drastic changes, and the only thing we can be sure of is that it will continue to change.  It will still be baseball, although every change may take some getting used to.

These “getting used to” periods will elicit perplexed reactions, some of which will be more childish than others.  Keuchel’s tweet was not particularly childish.  Closer to the other end of the spectrum, take Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.* As you may have heard, the Blue Jays were on the losing end of the exact same game-ending bona fide slide rule violation.  Gibbons, who apparently is poorly informed on the state of gender sensitivity in public discourse, said in his postgame press conference, “Maybe we’ll come out wearing dresses tomorrow. Maybe that’s what everybody’s looking for.”

One could argue that Gibbons ought to be ashamed for perpetuating an antiquated “female=weak” stereotype, but in my view it’s not that risible. It’s just petulant. Gibbons’ feelings were hurt, so he said something adolescent while the subject was still sore. It’s not the kind of thing he should have to apologize for, but it’s not something completely above disapproval either. Gibbons’ comment was immature and he really should know better.

On the far end of the Childish Spectrum are comments along the lines of one caller this morning on 105.7 FM The Fan complaining that the bona fide slide rule is an example of the “wussification” of sports, America, etc. Without doing any scientific research on the subject, I have a feeling the term “wussification” is used primarily on sports talk radio, in social media, at Donald Trump rallies, and other venues were insecure individuals feel free to express frustration about their declining cultural status. I’m all in favor of people speaking honestly and not hiding their feelings, and in that spirit: grow the hell up. No grown man with any self-respect should be using the word “wussification.”

Runners can still make contact with the opposing team’s second baseman or shortstop as long as they can stay on the base and aren’t purposefully targeting the fielder. There are still plenty of double plays that can be broken up with a hard slide under those rules. I suspect game play will hardly be changed once runners adjust to staying near the bag when they slide. Some wussification.

And adjust they will. Even if guys like Kuechel and Gibbons were a little emotional right after their teams’ losses, in a few weeks everything will be just fine. America’s pastime has undergone far more significant rule changes, and once everyone got used to them, we all agreed those guys were still playing baseball. Somehow I think we’ll all acclimate to the bona fide slide rule so quickly we won’t even remember that anyone thought it signified anything about manhood.

*Please

(Image: Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports)