Baseball’s unwritten rules need to evolve

With the game of baseball going through a youth movement, traditionalists need to expand their thinking on the unwritten rules.

The topic of baseball’s unwritten rules continues to come up all the time, especially with the game evolving at a pace unlike any seen for a very long time.

Let’s face it, all the players on the field are very competitive and put their blood, sweat and tears into the game of baseball. What’s so wrong with showing a little emotion every once and a while?

Let me tie this thought into something the readers of this website can relate to.

Easter is supposed to be a day of peace and relaxation with family. It is a religious holiday that is the commencement of the Lenten Season.

This was not the case on Easter Sunday of 2014 when the Brewers and the Pirates were finishing up a weekend series at PNC Park. Carlos Gomez came up to the plate with two outs in the top of the third inning with Gerrit Cole on the mound. Gomez took the first pitch of the at bat deep to center field, hitting the top of the wall, just out of the reach of Andrew McCutchen. The problem occurred when Gomez flipped his bat after he hit the ball. Cole, as the competitive player he is, took exception to this and eventually both benches cleared and an all-out melee commenced on the infield of PNC Park.

Which player, Cole or Gomez, was in the wrong?

In the Pirates’ case, many of the players are more reserved in the realm of showing emotion – most of the time. I feel like that is the biggest factor in this argument. The timing, rather than the sequence in which everything happens, determines which player is in the right and which player is in the wrong.

While Gomez’s timing was not appropriate, I can think of times when I am OK with these tactics. The one fresh in my mind is the McCutchen walk-off against the Cardinals last season.

Let’s go back in time and put ourselves back in that weekend of that epic home run. The teams were in the middle of a four game series in which they split the first two games. The Pirates found themselves down 3-0 until the bottom of the fifth inning when A.J. Burnett hit a solo shot to get the Pirates on the board. Fast forward to the 14^th inning. The Cardinals just put up a run to take the lead in the top of the inning. Neil Walker proceeds to come up with a lead-off hit to give the Pirates some life. McCutchen then puts a two strike pitch into the center field bushes to give the Pirates the game.

In the hours following the game, there were complaints that McCutchen showboated rounding the bases and when he crossed home plate. In this instance, with the things that were going on and the passion that goes into the rivalry, I don’t care if McCutchen flipped his bat into the stands, he deserved that moment. He deserved to wear his emotions on his sleeve in that instance. I wouldn’t blame any player in that situation to go all out.

Unwritten rules go far beyond one player showing up another. In fact, some of these unwritten rules provide protection to some of the game’s top players. This happened to the Pirates in 2014 when they visited the Diamondbacks.

Paul Goldschmidt gets hit at the end of a game by Ernesto Frieri and breaks his hand. Since Goldschmidt got hit in the bottom of the ninth, the Diamondbacks didn’t have a chance to retaliate that night.

However, the next day, they decided to take it out on McCutchen. The kicker is, they did not retaliate until the ninth inning when the Pirates, once again, had the game in hand. If you are going to stand up for your teammate and send a message, do it the first chance you get. Don’t do it when it is most convenient for your team.

As a younger individual, I feel like the game of baseball has to continue to evolve. The future is now for MLB. With players like Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa and Mike Trout, the mean age of the stars of the game is becoming younger. Emotion is a good thing, as long as it comes at the right time.

Baseball traditionalists need to realize this. Take into account all the things involved in the game at that time. Then, make a judgment. These players put way too much into this game to have to hold their emotions in all the time.

Featured image photo credit: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

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