All sports are governed by a set of rules that are written in a rule book and enforced by the officials of the game.
Those rules create order and boundaries, and are in place to make the games fair. Sports also have a set of unwritten rules, which sometimes need to be broken.
Last week, the San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis, Jr., set off a firestorm of criticism from some sports fans and baseball purists who thought he broke one of the cardinal unwritten rules of the sport. On the other hand, there were several former and current Major League Baseball players who applauded him for setting aside an unwritten rule, for the fun and excitement of the game.
Tatis, with a count of three balls and no strikes, did what he thought was the right thing to do, especially with bases loaded, he swung at the pitch, knowing the pitcher would have to throw a strike or the next ball would walk in a run. Low and behold, he knocked it out of the park for his first career grand slam and second homer of the game.
The upsetting thing to many people was that his team was leading the Texas Rangers, by seven runs (10-3) in the top of the eighth inning. So what?
A seven-run lead in baseball is hardly a sure thing, especially if you have a depleted bullpen. Tatis could have easily popped up the ball for the second out of the inning, or maybe he would have hit into a double-play to end the inning. It’s not his fault the pitcher, Juan Nicasio, gave him a pitch to hit, and he hit it over the right field wall. The pitch was actually low and away, so it wasn’t an easy pitch to hit.
I don’t have a problem with what Tatis did. In a shortened baseball season that is begging for publicity and good story lines, Tatis is a breath of fresh air and proving he is one of the brightest young stars in the game.
The following night, Wil Myers of the Padres hit a grand slam off Mike Minor in the top of the first inning. The next game, the same two teams were playing in San Diego and this time, Manny Machado hit a grand slam off the Rangers’ Rafael Montero in the bottom of the 10th inning to win the game.
UNWRITTEN FOR A REASON
Unwritten rules are not official, and seem to have come about simply by the way players and coaches have conducted themselves over the years. These unwritten rules are sometimes in place to promote good sportsmanship or bring integrity to the game.
Some unwritten rules are actually good for certain sports. In particular, the unwritten rule of not running up the score is a good one to follow.
I’m more keen to this one on the youth, amateur, and college levels than maybe the pro level. In many youth and high school sports, there is something known as a “mercy rule,” just for this very reason; a way to end a game when the score gets out of hand.
Another unwritten rule that is a good one is kicking the ball out of play in a soccer match, when a player seems to be legitimately injured, because we all know there are a lot of theatrics in soccer. Whether the player is on your team or not, it’s just good practice to kick the ball out to stop play and allow the injured player be tended to. The other side to this unwritten rule is when play resumes, the team with the throw-in, then throws the ball directly to a member of the team that kicked the ball out.
A couple of good unwritten rules in baseball include not stealing signs and relaying them to a teammate at the plate, and don’t yell “I got it,” when an opposing fielder is about to catch a fly ball. Ask the Houston Astros about that first one, and look up Alex Rodriguez “I got it,” for reference to the second one.
TATIS CONNECTION
I remember watching Tatis’ father, Fernando Sr., play for the Tulsa Drillers in 1997. We knew then that he was going to be a talented major leaguer.
He batted .314 that season with 24 home runs and 61 runs batted in. Tatis Sr., was called up to Texas late in the season and ended up with a .256 batting average while hitting eight homers and knocking in 29 RBI in 60 games with the Rangers.
Tatis, a native of the Dominican Republic, went on to play 11 seasons in MLB with the Rangers, Cardinals, Expos, Orioles and Mets. He is now a minor league manager in the Red Sox organization with one of their two rookie-level Dominican Summer League Red Sox teams.