THE STRIKE ZONE
Sometimes Sports, Sometimes Sportsmanship
Earlier this year, I posted some thoughts on making sure athletes aren't revered as if they were gods. I wrote that piece a few months in advance of its posting because of the long line of posts we have here at the blog and how they get released, etc. While I was waiting for that piece to get published, I had to go back and edit it a few times to actually remove some of the names from it that were still included in the list of people who it was okay to, for lack of a better term, idolize.
I should have just kept that entire list blank. When I watched the 2016 Chicago Cubs, I gave a lot of credit to young players like Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant because they looked like they played the game the right way. The clip between Rizzo and infamous umpire Angel Hernandez was heartwarming during the playoffs as it showed Rizzo apologizing to Hernandez and both coming to amicable terms, as if it was some sort of lost art in humanity. Then, during the 2017 season, both players committed acts that made me regret that decision. We already discussed the dirty slide by Rizzo earlier this year. And that's not to say that Rizzo is a dirty player, but the act was clearly illegal (as was stated by Joe Torre); further, for Rizzo and his kooky manager Joe Maddon to both defend it makes it even worse. In July, Bryant earned his first career ejection at the hands of umpire Lance Barksdale for a strike three pitch that was very much inside. Bryant was demonstrative in his disgust, pointing constantly as if to make sure the crowd knew the pitch was inside; his barrage of words, which, according to Maddon, were nowhere near anything Maddon has ever said to be ejected, was enough for Barksdale to send him on his way for the first time in his young career. And what did Bryant say after the game? "I had to defend myself." What is it with this young generation thinking the world revolves around them? You had to defend yourself against one bad call? Is that seriously that high on your priority list? Here's a note to Bryant and anybody on the Chicago Cubs who now has a World Series ring: you just won your first championship in 108 years. You ended the longest standing streak of a championship drought, bringing not only the attention of the nation to Wrigley Field, but possibly the world. You are getting paid (or will be getting paid) millions of dollars to play a kids' game, let alone the additional money you made from the championship and every endorsement that followed. I understand that your new goal is to win another championship and to put the last one behind you, but that shouldn't be at the expense of common decency. You know what Derek Jeter did when he disagreed with a call? He might have said something briefly to an umpire, but not in a demonstrative way, and he walked away before it could escalate. You know what Hideki Matsui did when he disagreed with a call? He looked straight up into the sky for a moment, then walked away. Will Aaron Judge be the next person to disappoint me? Or will he continue to show some decency and restraint when he disagrees with a call?
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Cowboy Joe West is a polarizing figure in Major League Baseball. He is one of the longest tenured umpires in the sport and worked his 5,000th game this season. He had a bit part in The Naked Gun when he was one of the umpires ejected from a baseball game by Frank Drebin. He is a country singer when he's not on the diamond. Fans either love him or hate him because of his moral compass. Whereas he feels he is doing what is right in the eyes of the game, others feel he is making the game about him. Somewhere, there is a PhD candidate writing a dissertation about him.
One thing he is not, though, is a target for deadly objects. At the end of June while in Milwaukee for a series between the Brewers and the Marlins, West was working first base when a baseball was thrown from the stands and hit him in the back of the head. Smartly, West pulled the teams off the field until he felt nobody was in danger of further attack. Brewers security attempted to locate the fan who assaulted West, but were unable to do so immediately. This incident occurs only months after a Toronto reporter was caught throwing a beer can at an Orioles outfielder during the 2016 AL Wild Card game. That reporter was fired and put on probation, among a list of other penalties. The fact of the matter is that nobody deserves to be the target of assault, especially over something as trivial as a game. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, especially when it comes to the officiating of Joe West, but nobody has the right to throw a baseball at him with the intent to injure him. It's an absolute shame that someone could be so stupid...or perhaps it's a shame that someone could be so inebriated that such an idea seems logical. The end of June had some stories that really tugged at our heart strings. Last week, we examined the heroic acts of MLB Umpire John Tumpane as he selflessly saved a woman from suicide. One day later, in Chicago, our hearts sunk.
Dustin Fowler was ranked as one of the best prospects in the New York Yankees' farm system. Scouts said he was ready for the big leagues in spring training, but he didn't get his call until late June when he met the team in Chicago to take on the White Sox. After waiting out an approximate three hour rain delay, Fowler finally took the field in the bottom of the first inning shortly after 10pm local time. With two outs, White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu hit a deep foul fly down the right field line. Fowler gave it his all, but the ball landed in the seats. The problem was that Fowler did, too. Fowler's momentum took him into the padded wall and caused an injury to his right knee. He tried to stand on it and fell to the ground in pain. The medical cart had to come out to escort him to an ambulance. Fowler was due to lead off in the top of the second. He only played two defensive outs and didn't even get to the plate. The grief everyone was feeling was immeasurable. Here's a kid who worked his whole life to get to this point, only to have his first game end abruptly. If there was a moment where sportsmanship was shown, however, it came when the White Sox Twitter feed sent this out: "Sending our thoughts to Dustin Fowler of the Yankees who left tonight's game following a collision with the right field foul wall." The responses to this were incredible. Fans of both teams reached out to show their support. Yankees fans tipped their caps to the White Sox for their class. It's a shame that it takes such an event to bring people together. But it's nice to know that people can reach across the proverbial aisle to come together in support of all members of the baseball family. Perhaps it's not a story directly about sportsmanship, but this is a story about humanity, empathy, and heroic deeds, all of which are not mutually exclusive from sportsmanship. All of these are related to the same basic idea that we're all in this human race together, and it doesn't matter whether you are a competitor, an official, or a fan: life is a precious thing that requires us all to take a step back and appreciate one another. And what better time to reflect on this than during the holiday season?
Back in June, MLB umpire John Tumpane was working a series in Pittsburgh. "Tump," as he is known, had the plate for the game that night as the Pirates hosted the Tampa Bay Rays in an interleague matchup. During the day, he went for a run and for lunch when he noticed a woman on the wrong side of the Roberto Clemente bridge. This woman was considering suicide. Through an act of courage with a touch of divine intervention, Tump was able to grasp onto this woman and prevent her from jumping to her death. He held her until the authorities arrived to take over and save this woman's life. The full account of this story is available on many news outlets (probably archived by now, but still readily available). One of the most amazing moments of the account, however, was when this woman cried about how nobody would remember her or nobody would care about her. Tump replied by saying he would never forget her, even offering to take her to lunch to talk about life to prevent her from jumping. Talk about an understatement: how could anybody forget someone who was in such a perilous situation and was saved by the serendipity of someone being in the right place at the right time? There are a ton of noted items from this story that go beyond just the account of what happened and the praise that Tump received for his heroism. First of all, this is a reminder that even MLB umpires are human and are on the same plane as everyone else. We have this concept that people of celebrity status somehow are demigods to us laymen, when, in reality, just because the stage is greater doesn't mean that these people aren't just the same as us. And that's not even to mention that MLB umpires usually don't want the notoriety that come with celebrity status; although the public may rally against them, umpires are happiest when nobody notices them. Second, perhaps this story can remind us that life goes beyond our employment and entertainment. How many people in the stands that night would remember that the home plate umpire saved someone's life earlier that day? And if Tump missed a call that night, do you think that anyone on either team or in the stands would think twice before giving him hell for what they perceived to be a bad job? Or would common sense prevail and allow them to think, "Man, I think he missed that...but the guy saved someone's life today...we should cut him some slack..." As an aside, and to put a little levity onto a serious situation, this is the best time a home plate umpire saved someone's life since Frank Drebin saved the Queen's life out in California... All in all, kudos to Tump. I'm sure he deserves a cold beer and a hug. I'm not a Tim Tebow fan. Maybe I've said it before. We could dissect it for days, but we don't have that kind of time.
So when Tim Tebow was being "trolled" by the Charleston Riverdogs this past season, was it reason to laugh? Actually, no. Earlier this season, when Tebow was with the Columbia Fireflies (the single A affiliate of the New York Mets) and the team visited the Riverdogs (the single A affiliate of the New York Yankees), the Riverdogs decided that their entire scoreboard should be dedicated to Tebow in a way that mocked his success to this point. Every Fireflies batter had their name removed from their picture and replaced with the phrase "NOT TIM TEBOW" while the backdrop of their picture was changed to Tebow's infamous crying face from his college football days. Following some backlash, General Manager Dave Echols apologized solely for the possibility that the public relations stunt might have offended some people. There was no apology to Tebow or for anything that was done...just in the event that they might have rubbed people the wrong way. Say what you want about Tebow and his minor league career, but nobody really deserves this type of classless behavior. You would even expect better from an organization directly affiliated with the New York Yankees, a team known for their class and professionalism. Even Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson came out as calling the whole thing very "minor league," but noted Tebow would know how to rise above all this. As for Tebow, he got the last laugh. Shortly after this event, even though his statistics may not have warranted it, Alderson promoted Tebow to High-A Port St. Lucie. For some time, I've sang the praises of Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. The moment in the 2016 playoffs between him and umpire Angel Hernandez brought tears to my eyes because it displayed an intensely private moment of humanity that allowed the public to witness the fact that there are some people on the big stage that understand the empathy needed to be a decent human being.
Unfortunately, that changed during the 2017 season. Back in June, when the San Diego Padres were visiting the Chicago Cubs, there was double play where Rizzo tried to score from third on a sacrifice fly, only to be thrown out at the plate. On the play, Padres catcher Austin Hedges received the throw in front of the plate and in fair territory, giving Rizzo the lane to the plate in foul territory, which satisfies the rules stating that players cannot block any base without possession of the ball (or in the act of catching the ball). Unfortunately, Rizzo violated the concurrent rule that states that a runner may not deviate his path to the plate to initiate contact with a defensive player. Rizzo changed his path and slid feet first directly into Hedges in an attempt to dislodge the ball. Rizzo was called out on the play based solely on the fact that he was tagged well before he reached the plate. After the game, during the various media sessions, Padres manager Andy Green went on record stating he knew Rizzo violated the rule. He didn't call Rizzo a dirty player by any stretch, but he said it was a clear illegal play. Cubs manager Joe Maddon, however, went on his usual soap box to say it was a clean baseball play. Rizzo pleaded ignorance, stating his interpretation of the rule, in discussion with umpires and other baseball personnel, would allow him to do what he did. Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre stepped in and let Rizzo know that he violated the rule and would have been called out had Hedges not held onto the ball, but also stated he would not impose any other penalty, such as a fine or suspension. If there's a silver lining to this story, it's that Rizzo deposited so many good deeds into the proverbial bank that, if he really was ignorant and thought this was an accident or a clean play, then it made sense that Torre would look at Rizzo's resume and decide no penalty was necessary. But the more important moral to this story is that even those who we deem to be the next superstar who can do no wrong actually, in fact, can do wrong. The number of people we really can put up on that pedestal is much smaller than we think. I fully admit I fell for it: I invested into Rizzo thinking he was going to be a good role model. And it looks like I was wrong. Back in May/June in the state of Texas, a youth coach was fired for being caught on video instructing his kids to intentionally hit the umpire with a pitch.
It gets worse... This coach had already been banned and shouldn't have even been near these kids or this field. Jeremy Knox is the coach in question. He has a history that mirrors these types of incidents. In fact, according to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as a scout for the San Diego Padres at one point. I can only imagine they fired him when they realized who he was or what he was doing. The articles that discuss this incident do enough of a job shaming Knox and calling him out for such behavior, so to dig deep into the obvious poor sportsmanship is almost redundant. But there is one thing we should examine. How did this get out? Interestingly enough, a player on Knox's team caught the whole conversation where Knox told his kids to hit the umpire on his cell phone, and the kid proceeded to post it to Snapchat so the coach of the opposing team could see it. He even included a note to the coach to explain what he was watching and hearing. The coach then posted it to Facebook to make sure it got out. Kudos to the kid for getting the word out. That kid is wise beyond his years. He deserves a medal. You might remember the brawl between Hunter Strickland of the San Francisco Giants and Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals that took place on Memorial Day this year. If you don't, check it out because there were a ton of layers to it. It wasn't just a standard fight...this thing was discussed for a week or more.
The reason we bring it up again is because Mike Venditti of Sporting News "gets it." Venditti wrote an article shortly after it thanking the Nationals for not abiding by the unwritten rules of baseball and throwing at people in response (something discussed in previous posts). The biggest take away from the article is that Venditti understands what the biggest revenge is in these types of situations: winning the game. Instead of retaliating the next day, the Nationals came out and beat the Giants. That's how it's done. The article discusses this issue in more detail, comparing the brawl to other bench-clearing incidents earlier in the season. But there's one more point that should be made. Venditti then calls out people who think that brawls are the only exciting part of baseball. It goes to the fact so many people think baseball is boring. His answer? Baseball isn't for you then, and that's okay. If you're the type of person who just can't get into baseball unless a bunch of man-children in polyester are fighting, why do you even bother? If you're that bored with baseball and are that concerned about the pace of play, why do you watch? Go do something else... ...Which is ironic because people who like to fight or retaliate on a baseball field should go do something else too. Referee Magazine publishes a supplement to the NCAA Baseball Rules prior to each season. The 2017 supplement began with a cover story titled "Respect and Integrity." It was their way to enforce the importance of reducing the number of conflicts within the sport.
The cover included a graphic that discussed the number of ejection/suspension reports submitted during the 2016 season. Of note from that graphic:
So where do we start? How about with the 693 reports??? That means that 693 times in an environment that is supposed to be promoting the educational experience of the student-athlete did a report have to be filed regarding a disqualification and pending suspension. If that happened in a nursery school, the local town would be quarantined. Beyond the graphic, the article discussed how umpires and coaches need to work together to make sure the integrity of the game is met. However, the graphic discussing the submitted reports shows that this is not necessarily the case. If there was a handful of issues reported, it would be different. But preaching this type of relationship when the statistics show differently reeks of the NCAA only paying this idea lip service. And by the way, it's Referee Magazine that is publishing this article. How many coaches and players read this? The fact of the matter is that collegiate athletics still don't understand that they aren't the pros. At the end of May, Kansas City starting pitcher Eric Skoglund made his debut against the Detroit Tigers, and he pitched a gem. There was a nice moment at the beginning of the game when Tigers' first baseman Miguel Cabrera gave Skoglund a thumbs up before getting in the box for his first at-bat. Cabrera has been an ambassador to welcoming people into the fraternity of Major League Baseball.
However, the celebration over Cabrera's good sportsmanship caused me to pause: isn't this the same guy who has racked up a handful of ejections over his attitude? And isn't this the same guy whose attitude has caused a couple of brushes with conflict concerning other players on other teams? Cabrera has been something of a hot head who fits the stereotype of the Latin ballplayer who takes things too seriously. He, like his brethren, take an "us-against-the-world" mindset in situations that deal with sports officials. Sure, he may be considered one of the best (if not the best) hitters of his generation, but does that raw talent excuse poor behavior? The ironic thing that mirrors this is the story line with Albert Pujols, who, just shortly after the thumbs up with Cabrera, hit is 600th career home run. Pujols was very humble in his interviews celebrating the feat, constantly mentioning his family and his blessings from God, but Pujols seems to forget he's in that same boat as Cabrera: accepting ejections as a battle scar that he thinks proves he was right and someone else was wrong. We could take a lot of lessons from this conversation. We could dissect it very deeply. But the conversation could go on for a long, long time. Perhaps we should just be more careful than to laud professional athletes unless they are of the Derek Jeter mold. |
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