(SportsRadio 610) -- Baseball is America’s pastime. A beautifully made game, with thought out rules and regulations. The rules that move the game forward and determine the outcome are written down and enforced by umpires.
Grown men and baseball players in general boo-hooing over so-called “unwritten rules” often makes MLB laughable and results in a harmonized eye roll by on-lookers.
On Monday night, rising star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. stepped to the plate as his Padres led the Rangers 10-3 in the eighth inning. With a 3-0 count and the bases loaded, Tatis Jr. blasted a grand slam, his second home run of the game.
This greatly upset those who police the unwritten rules of the game. Even more odd, it wasn’t just the Rangers who were upset with the 3-0 punishment Tatis Jr. gave to the pill, it was his own manager, Jayce Tingler.
The Padres skipper told the media that the 21-year-old Tatis Jr. had been given the take sign, and acted on his own by taking the pitch over the wall.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward was also greatly disturbed by the decision made to blast a grand slam in the eighth. Woodward said, “there’s a lot of unwritten rules that are constantly being challenged in today’s game.”
The Rangers manager also mentioned that he would probably be talking with Padres manager Tingley following the 14-4 shellacking of his team.
Uh-oh, Tatis. This feels like you might get a stern talking to for being really good at your job.
What is going on? Is this real life? In the words of the great Herm Edwards, “you play to win the game!”
Was Rangers pitcher Juan Nicasio not trying at that exact same moment to deliver an out to his team in the eighth inning of the beatdown? Who decides what player should have an expected advantage on that pitch, that he should bowl one down the middle and expect nothing but a strike?
THIS IS INSANITY.
In 2016, this same Padres team took off with a 12-2 lead just five innings into a matchup with the Seattle Mariners. By the end of the seventh inning, the Mariners led the Padres 16-12. At what point in the unwritten rules of baseball is it determined to be an insurmountable lead that should be treated with kid gloves? No one told the Mariners that day.
Every game means more in the 60-game shortened regular season. This is obvious. Being upset with a young superstar for adding to his team’s chances at winning one of those 60 games is absurd.
If you are not wanting to see a grand slam from your opposition, pitch better. If you don’t want your cardboard fans to witness a 10-run mauling of your ball club, play better.
The Texas Rangers should be embarrassed, not just by their new ballpark which resembles a trash can that’s been beaten down by Astros sluggers, but by their reaction to an opposing player successfully performing at what he is paid to do; hit that red laced ball very, very far.