Baseball's Unwritten Rules

Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr., is one of the best, most exciting young players in the game (and the likely NL MVP if they were voting today).  He also caused quite a stir the other day against the Rangers when he hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch in the eighth inning of a game San Diego was already winning 10-3.  Texas manager Chris Woodward was miffed, and Padres manager Jayce Tingler wasn't happy about it either.  Tingler, in fact, threw Tatis under the bus, declaring that he missed a take sign.  And, to make things even more ridiculous, he made him apologize.  (It should be noted here that the Houston Astros cheated their way to a World Series title and are yet to apologize for it.)

Why were they so angry?  Because Tatis had broken one of baseball's unwritten rules.  Evidently you're not supposed to swing at a 3-0 pitch right down the middle when your team has a seven-run lead in the eighth inning.  Six runs is OK, but seven, that's where you draw the line.  Shame on Tatis for not knowing that!  How dare he commit such a breach of baseball etiquette!  The Padres should send him down to the alternate site to teach him a lesson!

Part of the problem with baseball's unwritten rules is just that.  They're unwritten.  Everybody is supposed to just know them.  And breaking one is some sort of capital offense.  Never mind the fact that there's no clock in baseball, so a comeback is possible until the last out (one of the most memorable games I ever attended was when the Yankees came back from 9-1 down in the sixth to beat the Orioles 14-11 on Matt Holliday's walk-off three-run homer in the 10th). 

There's no mercy rule, either, so why should a team stop trying to score?  Just because there's a 3-0 count on the hitter and the score is "out of hand" doesn't mean you should get to throw one right down the middle and get a free strike.  You don't want a guy to hit a home run off you?  Throw a better pitch!  Your job is to get him out.  If you didn't do that, that's on you.

Baseball's unwritten rules have existed for years.  And breaking one can lead to all kinds of consequences.  If the other team takes offense, somebody's getting hit, either the next hitter or you the next time you come up (another unwritten rule!).  Yet that's an unwritten rule nobody seems to have a problem with.  I guess not all unwritten rules are created equal!

So which unwritten rules are OK to break and which aren't?  That's definitely a subjective question.  Frankly, I think the fact that they're all unwritten makes them all fair game, but I definitely think some need to be observed more strictly than others.

Don't talk about a perfect game/no-hitter while it's happening: Broadcasters break this one all the time, and every time they harp on it, the next batter inevitably gets a hit (or walks in the case of a perfect game).  I guess I'm just superstitious about it.  Every time I even realize there's a no-hitter going on in my head I jinx it.  Saying "he's perfect through three" is fine.  Early in the game no one's thinking about it.  But not being able to shut up about it in the seventh is a different story!  By then everyone knows about it, including the pitcher, so just let it play out.

Don't bunt to break up a no-hitter: People go back and forth on this one.  The argument for it is: "Why is it OK to bunt for a hit in the first, but not in the eighth?"  I have no problem with it if it's a 1-0 or 2-0 game.  You're trying to win the game and you need base runners.  But if it's 6-0 and you're doing it just to break up the no-hitter, that's bush league.  Break it up with a seeing-eye single to the outfield.

If the pitcher gets two outs on two pitches, take the first one: THIS is when there's a universal take sign for the batter.  Because there's no way you're letting the opposing pitcher get out of the inning by throwing only three pitches.  You might even be directed to take the first two.  Sure, they might be fastballs right down the middle that are painful to take.  But that's better than the hell you'll pay when you get back to the dugout after popping up on the first pitch and sending everybody right back on defense when they've barely had time to sit down.

Your pitcher's got your back: Preemptive warnings have taken a lot of the fun out of this one, but the brush back pitch is a time-honored part of baseball.  If there's a history of bad blood or leftover resentment because of a previous incident, everyone knows the close, inside one is coming.  So let it happen and that'll be the end of it.  Yes, there's a possibility it can escalate if the pitcher comes too far inside or gets a little too close to the head, but let the guys police themselves.

Don't steal when your team is up big: Much like "don't swing 3-0 when your team is up big," I don't quite get this one.  Just because you have a big lead and the other team isn't holding the runner on he has to stay at first?  Why?  So it's easier to get a double play or he can't score on a single?  If they're not holding you on, and you want to go to second, go for it!

Don't flip your bat: What is it about the Rangers and the unwritten rules?  Ask Rougned Odor about Jose Bautista.  I'm sure he's got some feelings.  I agree that Bautista's bat flip was over the top, but that doesn't mean they should all be outlawed.  Especially because there's a difference in flipping the bat to show the pitcher up and flipping the bat in a moment of pure excitement.  The first warrants a reaction.  There's nothing wrong with the second.

Don't bunt against the shift: I'm not even sure if this one counts as an unwritten rule.  Either way, it's frankly just stupid that more left-handed hitters don't do it.  They're giving you the entire third base line!  Just drop one down, run down to first, and you've got an easy single!

Once they pull their starters, you should too: Again, why is this an unwritten rule?  Why should what one team decides to do have any bearing on the other?  If the Dodgers are up big and want to take Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts out, that's their prerogative.  But that doesn't mean the Padres also have to take out Fernando Tatis, Jr., and Manny Machado.  The game's not over.  They can take them out if they want, but they're under no obligation to do so.  If the Padres come back and the Dodgers don't have their big bats in the game, that's their problem, not San Diego's!

As you can tell, the unwritten rules are incredibly arbitrary.  And adherence to them is a matter of interpretation.  For example, who's to define a "big lead?"  And when do you start applying them?  There's no mercy rule, so what's the threshold?  When teams are allowed to start using position players in relief?

Even though a lot of them are stupid, baseball's unwritten rules aren't going away anytime soon.  And Fernando Tatis, Jr., broke one, which clearly offended the Texas Rangers.  I think it was great though.  As the MLB marketing campaign from a few years ago states, "Let the Kids Play."  That's what he was doing.  And he was having fun doing it!