Joe Posnanski on hating A-Rod
Posnanski has an interesting article at si.com about why people feel justified — and appear united — in hating Alex Rodriguez. It’s not bad; per usual from JoePo, there’s some genuine insight couched in some silly fluffy watery-eyed romanticism.
Per usual from me, I’m not satisfied with it. In particular, he has a list of things he considers "unwritten rules" of baseball — points of etiquette that aren’t in the proper rules, but which players expect each other to follow. Now, I have no love whatsoever for unwritten rules — I’m of the opinion that if it isn’t written, it isn’t a rule. No use at all for vague expectations. But that aside, I think Joe’s list is a little… strange. Here, according to Joe, are the things baseball players don’t do per unwritten agreement:
• Step on the foul line
• Bunt for a hit with a no-hitter in the works
• Peek back at the catcher to see where he’s setting up
• Aim for the head
• Talk about no-hitters while they’re happening
• Throw behind the batter
• Charge the mound with your bat in your hands
• Steal bases when your team up a certain number of runs (the number is negotiable)
• Swing for the fences 3-0 when your team is up a certain number of runs (the number is negotiable)
• Shout anything racial when you are verbally and viciously taunting your opponent
• Start walking to first base before the umpire says “Ball four”
• Stand at home plate for too long and watch your home run fly (time is negotiable)
• Shout as you are running by when an opponent is trying to catch a fly ball
• Spend too much time celebrating strikeouts
• Help an opponent
• Crash into a catcher in an All-Star Game
• Rabbit punch someone during a bench-clearing brawl
• Spit at an umpire.
• Slide into second base, spikes high.
• Tag somebody hard in the face.
Now, this list is just crazy. He has the random, walk-across-the-mound "disrespect" bullshit tossed together all willy-nilly with things like not intentionally pitching at people’s heads. Not only that, he lists several things — such as watching fly balls too long and taking off for first before the ump calls ball four — that aren’t really etiquette violations so much as they’ll get you in trouble with your manager when you fuck up and end up out. And then there are a few more — like punching people and spitting at umpires — that are violations of actual written rules, and shouldn’t be on this list at all.
But really. Are "don’t celebrate your home runs too long" and "don’t charge the mound with a bat in your hand" really equivalent?
