I hear what you're saying and yeah, I don't want it to be like football where you have cartoon characters doing dances in the end zone, but I do think that it shouldn't be frowned upon as much as it is. I mean, it IS a game and it IS ok to get excited, y'know? I think sometimes that gets a little lost. I like that the very young and talented Royals get excited for each other. It raises the energy, encourages good performance and it's fun. Sometimes it seems like unless it's a walk off homerun you're expected to take a "brisk jog" around the bases with a straight face. Fuck that, you just hit a homerun! Get psyched! I also think some of the tradition needs to evolve with who is playing the game professionally. You take some of these Latin teams where they get so fucking passionate and you're seeing bat flips and dudes ecstatic etc. and then you send them to the MLB and tell them that their brand of baseball needs to be toned down? That doesn't sit 100% with me.
All that being said, I also like that you can have a pitcher keep you in check. It provides a really interest element to the game. I still go back on watch Nolan Ryan highlights etc. I still think being psyched for your homie and high fiving outside of the dugout is perfectly fine and maybe there are a few too many wet blankets who cry when their teams aren't doing well.
Thanks for attaching that ESPN article! Reminded me I keep meaning to buy this bbok:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Baseball-Codes-Beanballs-Bench-Clearing/dp/030727862X
Yeah I totally agree with you there, there should definitely be more excitement. I mean really when was the last time baseball had a mega-star, like a Lebron James type of guy. Barry Bonds? Bo Jackson? It's really only within the last few years that we've started seeing celebrations during non-post season games, jumping around after a walk off win, etc... And much of that poo-pooing of the Royals has to do with sore losing. Teams with 250million dollar payrolls and hall of fame players getting mad when a team of young no-names with fire whoops up on them (Angels I'm talking to you!), they just get bitter. "Yeah they kicked our ass, but we RESPECT the game!".
I've been dying to read that book too.. Maybe they can explain the whole 'no bunting when a no-hitter is on' unwritten rule to me, cause that one is by far the worst.
end ramble.... I find it funny that a beanball or two, and then retribution the next inning by the opposing pitcher will get both benches warnings from the umpire....don't know if it's always been like that, so quick to hand out warnings, but god damn these are grown men we're talking about here!
It talks a little about this in that article I posted above, but the whole 'umpire warnings' and MLB policing thing is fairly new. Beanballs and flat out fist fights used to be waaaay more common then they are now. I miss them so! Umpires are quick to throw the warnings out, which sucks for pitchers because a) the strikezone gets smaller every year, and if you even come near the inside of the plate it's perceived as a brushback, and b) sometimes pitchers hit batters unintentionally, it DOES HAPPEN!.
Seriously this discussion has led me down the youtube rabbit hole of MLB brawls and fuck it's entertaining as hell. I'M SO GLAD BASEBALL IS BACK!
Great point as well. I think it's also important to point out that a lot of this shit would've been shrugged off 10-15 years ago. It makes me wonder a lot about the media and social media (especially Twitter) coverage really feeds the fire.
That is definitely true, and not just in baseball, just in every facet of life. Now with social media the fuel for these fires just spreads everywhere.