Brandon Nimmo was hit by a pitch three times on Sunday. On one of those he intentionally threw his elbow – covered in protective gear – into the pitch and the umpire correctly did not award him the base. Another one he did not move a muscle to get out of the way.
Still, this is the type of thing that elicits a reaction from the fan base, reminiscent of Jim Malone, Sean Connery’s character from “The Untouchables.”
They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.
It’s caveman thinking and it’s got to stop.
Here’s something I wrote on May 28, 2016 and it unfortunately needs to be said again today.
But our collective thirst for vengeance was not quenched. It’s reminiscent of the Roger Clemens kerfuffle way back when. If you don’t recall that, a pitcher who wasn’t even on the team when the incident occurred had the unpleasant task at throwing at a guy with whom he had no beef. All to honor an unwritten code that glorifies violence and vigilantism.
There’s nothing manly about throwing a ball at another person.
Somehow a romanticism has evolved around throwing baseballs at people. Old timers and youngsters who never even saw them pitch will wax poetically about Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale and how they would intentionally hit opponents. It’s not anything to celebrate; it’s vulgar.
“It’s how the game’s always been played!”
“When the suits didn’t do anything, what else could we do?”
Well, we can try to be better. We can move past this idea that violence is the answer. We can stop romanticizing the act of hurling 90 mph fastballs at people’s heads or midsections.
It’s dinosaur thinking. It’s the equivalent of Bear Bryant having practices in extreme heat and not allowing his players to have water. Or Bobby Knight throwing a chair across the gym. Or Woody Hayes punching a player.
We used to think those things were okay. Then we realized it was moronic and quit doing it. It’s time for throwing at people in baseball to have the same fate.
*****
It’s one thing for a player who’s not much of a hitter to look to get hit by a pitch. But Nimmo, with a .571 SLG, is not that guy. It’s time he passes that HBP thinking over to Luis Guillorme.
Sorry but I don’t recall Gibson or Drysdale hitting someone on purpose for no reason or just for the hell of it. Too much showboating and admiring of ones prowess these days. Puig , Cespedes and Bautista comes to my mind. Do you think these ego me let my fling my bat and stand at home plate and watch my home run would of done that to these two HOFers? Or much more recent Randy Johnson? Throwing at players is cowardly if its meant to injure. Especially the head hunters. Intent is everything. Agree about Nimmo. The team needs him on the field. Not on the DL.
“It’s one thing for a player who’s not much of a hitter to look to get hit by a pitch. But Nimmo, with a .571 SLG, is not that guy. It’s time he passes that HBP thinking over to Luis Guillorme.”
lololololol hahahahahahhahahaha lololololol hahahahaha
They go bullpen day yesterday and have an 11 inning game, followed by a game today. Nice –
So, the Dodgers basically said that unwritten rules dictate that if a guy sticks his body out to get hit, you really give him a good hit the next time. So, how do you explain the second one from a guy that walked no one and his explanation for the second one is that his arm deviated from its usual slot? Why do they ask for respect of unwritten rules but the Mets are to cower from them? I think if MLB doesn’t want team brawls, they should give the penalties themselves. A nice $40K and six games for a starting pitcher should do it.
In hockey, you are responsible for your stick. If you trip over an ice shaving and you clip your opponent, you’re going to the penalty box. No ands, if, or buts about it. Why can’t MLB do that to its pitchers and make them care a little more, especially when it involves the one area more dear to them: their pocket? Otherwise, the wimpy Mets should have drilled Bellanger, and you know what, I bet you the Dodgers wouldn’t say a word because they knew it’d be coming. The Giants would have drilled, so would the Cubs, and so would most NL teams. Not to hurt Bellanger, but to command respect and protect their own. How do you respect men who don’t have balls?
You don’t have to hurt Bellinger. You just have to give him one high and tight.
I said in the last line that the goal wasn’t to hurt Belinger or anyone, but to stand up for yourself and command respect.
Gus for a SP that’s only 1 start. He’ll thank you for the rest.
Was watching Mattingly being totally frustrated on this issue. His team did not get the chance to retaliate when the home plate umpire issued warnings to both teams. Sometimes umpires get in the way unfortunately. This will not be forgotten next time the teams meet.
Clearly, this is now all about measuring options for 2019—is there enough “Mass” to build around a Semi decent to Solid Rotation???—- deGrom, Thor, Matz, Lugo
They have something in the way of 90-100million of salary commited, including Wright at 15 Million—- so, you need to ask if a 30-50 million boost on that is gonna make this a real Team?
The actionable FA’s are Familia, Cabrera, Mesoroco, and Blevins—
OF: Bruce, Nimmo, Conforto, Ces
: ss/Rosario, 3b Frazier, 2b?, 1b???
C: I’m ok with some mix of 2 of the three they now have—mlb catching sucks, and the Mets c’s are passable…belieev it or not
– Bench: Reyes and Guillorme are not MLB Players. Wilmer is not even good enough to provide Droobs with some \needed rest…or to spot start at 3b.
This is going to involve Money and Talent—and I’ll start with The Regime: do they have the Money and Talent to address this as a Baseball Situation????
My Take: an offseason re-build would still leave them threadbare. The SP’s are not well proven for Qulaity or Durability. deGram is top shelf. Thor is fun to watch/often injured….I don’t have great confidence in him going forward. Matz and Lugo?????— they can be decent mid/back starters—un proven on both Quality and Durability.
A rebuild would be about a lot of Money chasing a very flimsy “Team Core”
I would tear it down.
Alderson tied up another 28 million over the next 2 years for Bruce. Who was he competing against? Himself? Cespedes 58.5 million for the next 2 seasons. Wright 27 million. Lagares 9 million. Vargas 8 million. That’s over 75 million in dead money and we haven’t even talked about Arb hearings. Payroll is over 100 million already, Too many question marks. How to rebuild? Who to trade? You need a reason for the fans to come out. Its depressing when you have more questions than answers. And that’s the problem with this aging team.
So, when a team hits a three run homer or a grand slam, they have an .804 winning percentage. So, the Mets hit three run homers on consecutive nights and yet lost both.
Chris, for you.
https://mobile.twitter.com/EllAreBee/status/1011798176402149379