MLB: Plunking a batter and brawls on the field are unnecessary
Yesterday my colleague Evan Marinofsky wrote about the need for “toughness” in baseball. With due respect, the premise is misguided.
On Monday, a benches-clearing brawl took place at AT&T Park after Hunter Strickland hit Bryce Harper in the hip with a 98-mph fastball. The two have been issued suspensions though both players have appealed. Even before the oven chimed, the takes were piping hot. The Nitkowskis of the baseball Twitterverse gave their predictable opinion.
Following Monday’s game, Strickland gave his reaction to reporters, writes Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News.
"“Yeah, I can see how that kind of stands in peoples’ minds. But that’s the past. Like I said, I left the ball over the plate to him a couple of times to him and he’s taken advantage of that. So obviously, I’d rather miss in than over the plate.”"
Yesterday’s post on this site followed the same vein, talking about a lack of toughness and excusing reckless, violent behavior.
To address Marinofsky’s first point about Harper’s right to self-defense, I do not think anyone is expecting Harper to quietly take a 98-mph beaning. He has every right to defend himself. However, the issue is that he should not feel defenseless in the batter’s box in the first place. In fact, no batter should have to worry about a baseball coming their way because a pitcher’s fragile ego was slighted. Even if Strickland’s misgivings about Harper could be justified, hitting him is not the way to go about things. His job is to pitch better.
Second, my colleague has misplaced value in toughness. Toughness is not plunking a batter. Nor is toughness charging the mound when an errant inside pitch gets away from the pitcher. Toughness is getting out of a jam after putting runners on. Toughness is trudging through a slump in the middle of August. Toughness is improving one’s approach at the plate. In Strickland’s case, toughness is finding ways to pitch better to one of the best players in baseball.
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The third point my colleague argues is that protecting players removes competitiveness from baseball. Protecting players does not remove competitiveness from the game. Did protecting catchers or middle infielders make Game 7 of last year’s World Series less competitive? Is the rivalry between the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers any less competitive because runners cannot collide with catchers at the plate? The answer is no. To suggest that removing collisions at the plate or on double plays at second removes toughness is simply wrong. Players understand the inherent dangers of those plays at their respective positions. That does not mean they should not be protected.
The idea that fights should happen more often is simple-minded. Who should instigate it? Should players charge at the mound from the dugout with their bat in hand? Or should pitchers continue plunking batters? When does a fight need to occur? Should it be at the beginning of the season, or in the middle of the summer?
These type of events do not create cohesion or create a “winning spirit.” In fact, after Boston Red Sox pitchers beaned Manny Machado, Dustin Pedroia was the first one to call out his teammates. No cohesion there. Hell, the Giants still lost to the Nationals after the brawl. They lost the next day as well and were eventually swept by the Nationals. They likely will not finish anywhere near first place and more fights will not fix this. In fact, it causes undue injuries even on players that were not originally involved, as was the case with Michael Morse.
Furthermore, baseball is struggling with the pace of play and trying to find ways to speed things up. Brawls in baseball do not inject energy into the game. In fact, they sap excitability from an already long, drawn out sport. If the highlight for a fan in the middle of the season is a fight, then perhaps baseball is not the sport for them.
The game has long been policed by an archaic pomp and circumstance. It is governed by tired arms and dull wit. The arbiters treat unwritten rules as if they were etched by the baseball gods on the holiest of Louisville maple. Perhaps, instead of advocating for fights that put players in harm’s way, we should be better and expect better from grown men.