Unwritten Rule Chatter
The unwritten rules of baseball are coming into question again and I choose to ignore the Celtics winning a one game playoff game and focus on this matter, which is far more important.
The Scene: The Minnesota Twins were losing by a lot to the Chicago White Sox a couple of nights ago when they put a position player, a guy that I have enjoyed watching the past couple months, Willian Astudillo.
La Tortuga checked in and started tossing lollipops at a rip roaring 45 mph all the way to his fastball clocking in at around 72. Another gem of a guy Yermin Mercedes steps in and hits a 3-0 moonshot to center and the world is upset. Next night the Twinkies threw a pitch knee high, behind Mercedes in like the 7th inning of a two-run game. Players for Chi-town and more have backed Mercedes. Coach of the White Sox has said they would deal with it internally and that the guy throwing at his own player was not in the wrong.
The Problem: There is a vast majority who know the ”unwritten rule” and choose to ignore it because it’s silly. Then there is a good chunk that want the game to remain in check and have some of these unwritten rules. This particular unwritten rule is don’t swing 3-0 which has been ignored by many for some time.
(See if this works)
<iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/yermin-mercedes-homers-6-on-a-fly-ball-to-center-field" width="560" height="315"></iframe>
(If not, link here for homer)
https://www.mlb.com/video/yermin-mercedes-homers-6-on-a-fly-ball-to-center-field
My Stance: LaRussa, the coach of ChiSox, and others that side with him are living in a past that needs to be let go of. Do I usually swing 3-0? No. Can other people? Certainly. My view on 3-0 swings is if you’re going to do it, make it count. If you swing 3-0 and ground out or hit a lazy fly then shame on you for not taking advantage of what should be a near perfect pitch. The Yerminator made his count. Good on him. Let the kids play.