Baseball's Ten Commandments — Baseball Bench Coach

Recently some of my colleagues, students, and friends joined me on a delightful tour of Wrigley Field. One student, who is not familiar with the game, told me that she brushed up on the rules of baseball before the tour and found them to be difficult to understand. I assured her that it was just a matter of time before the game would become easier for her to follow. What I didn’t say though was that baseball also has “unwritten rules”, a set of unspoken rules about gamesmanship and respect that players and managers follow. After some early season incidents of supposed violations of these rules in the MLB, let’s take a look at my very own “Baseball’s Ten Commandments”:

Thou shall not forget. Baseball players have long memories, especially pitchers. If a pitcher determines that another player has violated any of the unwritten rules referenced below, it may take some time to retaliate, but retaliate he will and most often with a beanball. Bob Gibson of the Cardinals once threw at a batter about a violation that happened 15 years earlier! Another pitcher in the 1960s, Stan Williams, actually wrote in his baseball cap the names of batters he wanted to retaliate against.

Thou shall not admire hitting a home run. You might recall the fun scene in “Bull Durham”, when the catcher, Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner, admonishes a batter for admiring a home run even though Davis purposely tipped the pitch to him. In 2015 Manny Machado of the Orioles admired one of his home runs off Jonathan Papelborn a little too much, causing Papelborn to throw at Machado the next time he batted. Bryce Harper, Papelborn’s own teammate, took issue with Papelborn’s brushback pitch and pleaded for an end to unwritten rules. Most MLB players sided with Papelborn.

Thou shall not bunt when the opposing pitcher is throwing a no-hitter. In 2001 Curt Schilling, then with the Diamondbacks, was pitching a perfect game when Ben Davis of the Padres broke it up with a bunt, causing a big controversy. More recently, in 2014, San Diego’s Andrew Cashner had a no-hitter in hand when Philadelphia’s Dominic Brown bunted for a hit. Similarly, shortstop Andrelton Simmons of the Angels in 2018 bunted for a hit with a no-hitter in progress. I guess you call these double no-no’s!

Thou shall not attempt to steal when your team has a big lead. Earlier this season, Thairo Estrada of the Giants stole second base with his team up 7-1 in the ninth inning in Washington. Nationals infielder Alcides Escobar was seen screaming at Estrada for this discrepancy. Also, in an April game against San Diego, Steven Duggar of the Giants stole a base with San Francisco leading by nine runs, leaving Padres third base coach Matt Williams fuming from the dugout. Perhaps Estrada, Duggar, and the Giants hadn’t heard about the lesson basketball superstar Michael Jordan learned in his one season of minor league baseball. Jordan stole third base in a game with his team leading 11-0. His manager, Terry Francona, had to explain to Michael why you can’t always compete so hard in professional baseball.

Thou shall not run too hard or trot too slowly after hitting a home run. I used to love watching Pete Rose sprint around the base paths after a home run. His fellow MLB players probably thought differently. The bigger violation is taking too much time running the bases. White Sox pitcher Ed Farmer in 1979 thought that Wayne Gross of the Athletics had trotted too slowly rounding the bases on a home run. Four years later, when they were actual teammates, Farmer threw at Gross during batting practice!

Thou shall not swing at a 3-0 pitch when your team has a big lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. really stirred the pot in 2020 when he hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch with his Padres leading the Rangers by seven runs in the eighth inning. His own manager, Jayce Tingler, criticized him after the game, causing Tatis to issue an apology. The following year, Yermin Mercedes of the White Sox delivered a home run with a 3-0 count in a lopsided win over the Twins. Tony LaRussa, his manager, called it a “big mistake”.

Thou shall not cross the pitcher’s mound as a baserunner. Alex Rodriguez, Yankee superstar, intruded upon forbidden territory during a 2010 game against the Athletics. As a baserunner on first base, ARod hustled around second base on a foul ball. When he returned to first, he crossed the pitcher’s mound, much to the disdain of Oakland pitcher Dallas Braden.

Thou shall not distract a fielder while running the bases. In a game three years earlier, Rodriguez was accused of playing street ball. When running the bases he attempted to distract Toronto infielder Howie Clark from catching a pop up. Maybe Alex, not Rickey Henderson, was the ultimate “menace” as a baserunner.

Thou shall not step on the baseline when changing pitchers. Sparky Anderson, the late Hall of Fame manager of the Reds and Tigers, was nicknamed “Captain Hook” for his proclivity to change pitchers in critical situations. He was one of the best ever in finding favorable matchups for his relievers. What he never did was step on the baseline on his numerous trips to the mound. Some may call it superstitious; I deem it an unwritten rule for managers.

Thou shall not flip your bat. Flipping your bat after belting a home run has been at the center of the controversial unwritten rules recently. In the 2015 American League Division Series the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista flipped his bat as he began to trot to first base after a key HR. Pitcher Sam Dyson of the Rangers angrily called out Bautista and told him to “respect the game”. And most recently, in April 2019, Tim Anderson of the White Sox, whose mantra is to play the game with excitement and emotion, flipped his bat after hitting a home run against Kansas City’s Brad Keller. On Anderson’s next at-bat, Keller hit Anderson with the first pitch, leading to a bench-clearing brawl.

This last one for me goes into the category of how about letting players show their enthusiasm for the game. Sometimes we forget that playing and watching baseball are all about the enjoyment the game brings. Maybe that should be the first rule of baseball. Have fun!!

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

P.S. Hey readers, did I forget an unwritten rule here? Please add to the list with some of your own.