Baseball is not a violent sport by nature. Of course, nature doesn’t account for any of the seemingly dozens of unwritten rules of the game, which may or may not result in a violent, all-out brawl. These unwritten, yet very serious rules, are seemingly made up on the spot and are generally at the discretion of those who are offended.
In fact, a new one was just enacted in late August when when Houston’s Carlos Gómez—in frustration at himself—flipped his bat and screamed at himself after just missing a pitch he thought he should have hammered out of Yankee Stadium during the sixth inning of a 9–0 Astros/Yankees game. This display of displeasure at himself for not adding to the Yankees misery was a clear no-no and didn’t sit well with Yankee manager Joe Girardi, who had some words for him as the benches started to empty.
But this latest unwritten rule isn’t as well-known as some others—despite their not being written down anywhere. They also don’t seem to apply to other sports. Baseball is special though. Here’s the list:
1.Don’t admire, enjoy, or otherwise celebrate a home run.
Imagine if the next time you saw someone score a touchdown, they just carefully handed the football to the ref and then ran to the sideline without as much as a peep of celebration for fear of offending the opposition? Crazy, right? Yet in baseball, even the slightest excitement or celebration after a home run—be it a bat-flip, a slow jog around the bases, or just enjoying watching where the ball eventually lands—can set off the apparently always-fragile pitcher and his equally-hurt teammates.
Of course, this long-standing rule of conduct, is also dependent on the person who hits it. If you’re a veteran like David Ortiz, no one’s going to say anything as you flip your bat and do your slow jog around the horn. Others—with less seniority—might not be so lucky.
