| 02 September 2010
Usually, a September baseball game between the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins is not noteworthy. This is especially true when the two teams are a combined 23+ games out of first place and going through the motions to end the season. However, when the game features the latest idiotic installment of violating BASEBALL'S UNWRITTEN RULES, I have to comment.
If I had the time (and the influence) I would make it my personal crusade to rid the universe of these neanderthalic "rules." I already addressed this issue once this year after Prince Fielder was plunked in Spring Training! Seriously, how long is baseball going to be in the stone age with these insane unwritten rules that take the game back to the dead ball era every time a player spits in the wrong direction? These "violations" of the "rules" of baseball only drive more and more younger fans away from the game. Our latest chapter of the unwritten rules of baseball involves recent crazy man Nyjer Morgan - profiled here by the third Yoder over at The Nats Blog.
Morgan just graduated from the Milton Bradley school of MLB players. He threw a ball at a fan, took out a Phillies catcher last week in a dirty play, and then injured Florida's catcher Brett Hayes in a clean homeplate collision during a 0-0 game the night before. I understand Florida is upset their guy got hurt and Morgan has acted like a lunatic the last couple months. However, it was an aggressive play and Morgan was trying to knock the ball out. Catchers get hurt in collisions. That's baseball. You want your stupid revenge by plunking him the next night, fine, whatever. Have your pound of flesh and move on. But, with the cave drawing sport of baseball, it's never that simple. Let's set the scene last night...
The Nats are down 14-3 in the 4th inning when the crazed Mr. Morgan gets plunked by a pitch. Yea, every one of the 257 fans in attendance at Joe Robbie Landshark Ray Finkle Stadium knew it was coming. Morgan then steals 2nd and 3rd after getting hit and scores on a sacrifice fly in the inning. Who cares, right? Let's pause for a second to break this down scientifically and look at the facts before we go any further:
1) The Marlins are mad at Morgan. 2) Morgan gets plunked. 3) The Nationals are losing - by a lot. 4) Morgan steals bases, presumably in an attempt to score runs, but probably out of spite. For now, let's not get all sabermetric about the value of basestealing and keep it simple. 5) The Nationals are still trying to win the game.
Of course, the levelheaded response is to throw behind Morgan AGAIN and start a bench-clearing brawl in his next plate appearance. Morgan got in one haymaker before being clotheslined to the ground by the Marlins first baseman. Here's the video of the fight...
Now, evidently, Wes Helms' mummy didn't hug him enough as a child. He had this to say about Morgan's criminal actions in the series:
"There's nothing good I can say about someone who doesn't play the game the right way and doesn't respect the integrity of the game. We had to show we weren't going to put up with how he was treating us."
Let that quote of the year candidate sink in.
Let's follow Helms' logic here - trying to win + playing hard = no integrity or respect for the game. As Homer Simpson would say - never try. Florida is nowhere close to the division lead because they want to sit and cry and have their boo boos kissed and made better. Just look at how their supposed superstar, Hanley Ramirez, acted like a spoiled brat earlier this season and got his manager fired. As a fan, I want my teams to be the ones that are borderline dirty and playing the game with intensity... not getting pissy and crying when things don't go their way. Sure, Morgan is a nutjob - but what did he do wrong in the Florida series? Try? Play physically? Try too hard? Not take his plunking like he was supposed to?
I really am having a hard time putting into words how stupid this unwritten rules thing is for the sport. Put this whole episode in the context of another sport - football. Imagine a bench clearing brawl breaking out tonight if Marshall dared to throw a downfield pass trailing by 28 points. Imagine if Ray Lewis got taken out after a play because he hit a QB too hard. Imagine if the next play he let Tom Brady throw a TD pass to accept his punishment for playing hard.
IT'S F#%$ING INSANE!!!
Give Washington manager Jim Riggleman credit for standing by his guns and saying that the Nats will run and steal bases when the Nats want to and not with permission of the Marlins. What a novel concept. Next time, maybe Nyjer Morgan should ask the audience before stealing a base. Maybe he should have just taken his plunking with a thank you like he was supposed to do and volunteered himself out at 1st base. Great for Nyjer Morgan that he didn't sit back and accept his plunking and adhere to the stupid unwritten rules. That's a guy that I would want on my team any day, because he just took the unwritten rules of baseball and used them as toilet paper.
***UPDATE - It looks like someone has finally solved the mystery of Baseball's Unwritten Rules...
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