End The Bean Ball Wars

[The Brain]

I am a die hard baseball fan. I’ve loved it my whole life and am pretty much addicted to MLB Network. For as much as I love the game there have been a couple things bothering me lately and some of them involve the childish attitudes of pretty much everyone in the game.

I know there are certain unwritten rules of the game but I’ve about had it with this immature macho attitude about retaliation or charging the mound anytime a batter is hit with a pitch. This reminds me of kids fighting on the playground. “He hit me.” He hit me first.” Grow up. Seriously. More times than not it seems when a pitcher hits a batter it is an accident. I’ve seen many times where a batter is hit during a crucial part of the game and he eyeballs the pitcher all the way down to first. They don’t take a second to consider the situation of the game. The pitcher doesn’t want to just give him a free base. He wants to get him out. There’s no need to get all puffy chest like some sort of tough guy. Put your dick away and just walk to first base. Then of course retaliation is necessary during the next inning. They can’t just let the incident pass. They can’t let anyone show them up even though no one will notice. Instead they have to stoop to their opponents’ level and instead of just trying to get the last laugh by winning the game they have to show their lack of maturity and sportsmanship by basically assaulting another human being. They’re willing to sacrifice the game because of inevitable ejections and likely suspensions just to prove a meaningless point.

I’m not going to place all the blame on the batter and the retaliating team. Sometimes a pitcher does start the war by intentionally throwing at someone first. This is usually done to a hitter who has gotten the best of the pitcher. You want to get back at the guy who hit two home runs off you? Strike him out. Don’t be a little bitch and throw at him because he got the best of you. I don’t care if the batter watches his home run for a couple seconds before going into his trot. Not every little action is done with the intention of “showing you up.” Put your fragile ego aside and get him out next time.

I have no problem with a pitcher pitching inside to try and establish his territory of the plate. I have no problem with the opposing pitcher doing the same thing to either neutralize the advantage the other pitcher is trying to create or make him back off his original plan. That’s all basic strategy of the game. The bean ball wars have to stop. There is a real possibility of someone getting hurt. A few days ago Will Rhymes was hit by a pitch on the forearm. It was not intentional and didn’t look like anything unusual. After reaching first base Rhymes suddenly collapsed into the arms of his coach. He turned out to be perfectly fine but for a moment it was a very scary situation. Imagine someone getting hit in the head over a petty squabble and the hitter passing out. How shitty would the other team feel and how unimportant would that retaliation seem? The NFL is doing everything they can to prevent injuries but MLB has very little consequences for what could turn into very serious situations. Be proactive Bud. Don’t let tragedy strike on the field before taking this seriously. Let’s see some more serious consequences for intentionally throwing at batters. The punishment needs to be enough of a deterrent to eliminate the problem. The NFL has made an example of the Saints. Maybe MLB needs to do the same. A five games suspension for a pitcher means his next start is pushed back a day. Hardly a punishment at all. Try 25 games so the punishment actually means something.

I know these bean ball wars aren’t anything new and luckily no one has been seriously injured in such an incident yet. Maybe it’s my imagination but it just seems to be happening so much more than it used to. I remember a benches clearing incident used to be very rare and honestly because of the rarity it was a little exciting. Now it seems like there’s a game a week with some sort of incident. Enough is enough. Just shut up and play.

This went a bit longer than I anticipated so I'll save my next topic for another day.

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

I agree Brain, and we sort of saw something like this with the Mets/Brewers game the other day after DJ Carrasco beaned a Brewer. Terry Collins decided to pull David Wright out of the game because he was afraid of his best hitter getting hit in retaliation. Personally I think it was a very smart move on Collins' part. Unfortunately though, I get a feeling that a Brewers pitcher might just end up hitting Wright the next time they play.

Then there was the game that got Cole Hamels suspended a week ago after he plunked Bryce Harper. Now obviously Hamels didn't have any reason to hit Harper, and he ended up showing him up by stealing home... But at the same time, I don't think retaliation from Zimmermann was necessary when he hit Cole Hamels with a pitch soon after.

Pitcher suspensions need to be different from everyday player suspensions. As you said, being suspended for five games would mean a pitcher would miss a start. Hell, if they had an off day in between, the pitcher wouldn't miss anything. If they want to even out hitter and pitcher suspensions, then you would do a 1:5 ratio. Which like you said would be 25 days for a pitcher, making them miss 5 starts. That would be the equivalent to an everyday player being suspended for five games.

 

[Megatron]

An interesting topic, Brain, but I have to say I disagree with you. Beanballs and retaliation are some of the little intricacies of the game and help build rivalries between foes. Very rarely do you see intended HBPs go at the batters head. More often than not, it'll be near the ass/thigh area, which is definitely the least painful spot to get hit.

I agree with you that the main problem I see is that hitters think they're getting thrown at when the pitchers have no reason to. Up 1 with 1 man on in the 8th inning, why would a pitcher hit you to with intent? That puts the other runner in scoring position and potentially makes it a big inning. In fact I'd be happy to get hit since it means I'm getting on base and helping my team score. As long as it isn't near the head, of course.

So no I don't agree with you on ending beanballs. It can be difficult to judge the difference between intent and accident, and pitchers are still going to sometimes lose control of one and hit a guy. Plus, who doesn't like to see a bench clearing brawl and some spice added into this May and June series'?

 

[CH David]

I don't really think it's that big of a deal. If a pitcher throws at a guy and hits him, then he opens the door for one retaliatory chance throughout the rest of the game. How the pitcher will then use that is up to him. Does he hit someone, then place the pressure on himself to get out of that inning and end up fucking the team? Does he throw well enough behind the batter that he sends the message but doesn't hit him? Regardless, the warning will then be issued, and further shenanigans will result in probably getting tossed and a subsequent fine or suspension.

I agree that players need to not get butthurt, but if there is a time where it is obvious that the other team, or other teams are gunning for you, you need to respond that you aren't afraid to do the same to them. The only time it is a big deal is when a guy gets pissy for getting hit and talks shit or charges the mound and the benches clear. I'm fairly certain in previous years guys understood what was happening, and just took their base. Now guys have egos and shit.

It is an interesting dynamic in the art of pitching. Pitchers don't try to establish the pitch inside much anymore. I think it is more prevalent in the NL. If an NL pitcher hits the opposing team's best hitter inside, there is a fear of retaliation on said pitcher because he can hit. Probably another reason that some NL hitters have trouble hitting in the AL at first. AL pitchers will throw more inside, and don't have to face the consequences in the batters box that often. Okay this is more of a tangent but it works.