Baseball shuns that sissy stuff

STEVE SMITH

There’s nothing funny about getting hit in the foot by a 94 mph

fastball. But if the player is OK, what happens next always makes me

smile.

When a player is injured in any other sport, the immediate

reaction is to grab whatever body part was affected. It’s a fact --

holding your hand on the “owie” or rubbing it helps remove the sting.

Basketball players do it and football players do it. Hockey players

would do it but there is so much padding on those uniforms, it’s a

wonder they can move around as well as they do. Those aren’t

uniforms; they’re fat suits.

Not in baseball. In baseball, players are bound by an unwritten

rule that forbids them from touching their ankle, shin or any other

body part that has been hit by a pitch.

So it is amusing to watch a player who is not badly hurt strut

around trying to act macho while he avoids grabbing the injury.

In their final game against the Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinal star

Albert Pujols was hit in the ankle by a ball that glanced off of his

foot. He was clearly stung. But instead of reducing the sting time by

grabbing or rubbing his foot, he hopped around home plate. Even after

a few more pitches, he was still bothered by the foot but refused to

do anything except hop around for a moment between throws from the

mound.

Baseball was unique for another action it never took until

recently. In most other sports, teams say “hello” and “farewell” to

each other after a big game. It’s quite common in football, where

opposing coaches seek each other out in the madness, while their

players catch up with acquaintances. In football, players linger on

the field, particularly after a big game.

This is a particularly interesting sight, considering the fact

that the two teams just spent the last three hours trying to beat the

stuffing out of each other.

Come to think of it, boxers meet after each fight. They even hug

each other!

Not in baseball. In baseball, when it’s over, it’s over. No sissy

stuff like congratulating the winner or offering a “good game” is

allowed. And absolutely, positively no way is anyone going to hug an

opponent after a game.

I love baseball because I believe it is the most mentally

challenging of all the major sports. But baseball is mental when it

comes to sportsmanship.

So, it was refreshing to see some serious steps being taken over

the past couple of weeks to correct some baseball wrongs and set some

very good examples for kids.

The first big step was the Angels’ suspension of outfielder Jose

Guillen after an outburst in the dugout during an important game. It

was made clear later on that Guillen had performed other

unsportsmanlike maneuvers during the season but the dugout tirade was

the last straw.

Guillen was suspended for the rest of the season (five games) and

the postseason, without pay. This was a blow to the Angels’ offense,

for Guillen had been one of their best hitters. Kudos to Angels

General Manager Bill Stoneman, owner Arte Moreno and manager Mike

Scioscia for making the right call.

And if you’re an Angel fan who applauded the suspension, only to

watch them go down days later in flames against the Boston Red Sox,

please don’t change your mind about their decision. You can’t have it

both ways.

Up in Los Angeles, major league sports is still in show time mode,

so when the volatile Milton Bradley performed his latest tirade, his

reviews came in, and he was sent packing, too, but only for the few

games remaining in the season. He played during the playoffs against

St. Louis.

It was the Dodgers’ last game against the Cardinals that sent

baseball purists reeling. After the game, which the Cardinals won --

they’re my pick to go all the way -- both teams spilled onto the

field and began hugging and chatting.

It was a love fest. I read in the newspaper that this had been

Dodger manager Jim Tracy’s idea and that it had been planned with his

Cardinal counterpart before the game.

Premeditated or not, it was fabulous, and I hope that other teams

follow suit, so kids can see that once the game is over, the game is

over. They call it a game because that’s all it is.

In Little League, kids have to shake hands or “high five” after

each game. It’s a rule there, and it should be a rule in professional

baseball, too.

Now if we could just get major leaguers to rub their owies ...

*

Rick Campo’s citation and fine for practicing his Little League

team without a permit were dismissed in court on October 7. The city

official I spoke to knew nothing of the dismissal, so to whomever is

responsible, thank you. That, too, was the right call.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(949) 642-6086.