San Diego led 10-3. They had bases loaded in the top of the eighth. Fernando Tatis was up. The count was 3-0.
Then he did something that changed the course of humanity forever. Or, you would have thought so the way the Rangers reacted. More aptly, the way they over-reacted.
He swung at a 3-0 pitch. And lined it over the wall in right-center for a grand slam.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward went into a snit that might even be better referred to as a hissy fit. How d-a-r-e Tatis swing at 3-0?
It was so appalling that the Rangers threw at the next batter.
It was so appalling that the Rangers TV announcers couldn’t stop talking about how much Tatis swinging at 3-0 was an affront to humanity.
Why?
These unwritten rules of baseball are silly. Getting butt-hurt over a guy swinging at 3-0 is immature. Nearly ninety percent of 3-0 pitches are fastballs. As the Astros showed the past three seasons, when you know the pitch, you have a much better chance of success. So, why not swing at a pitch you know is going to be a strike? Once baseball embraced the shift, all convention and civility was gone.
If the tables were turned, if a Ranger swung at a 3-0 pitch and hit a grand slam, it is guaranteed Chris Woodward would be talking about how these unwritten rules are foolish and he had no problem with his guy swinging and if the opposing team had a problem with it, they shouldn’t have loaded the bases and shouldn’t have gone to 3-0 on the batter.
Why is it a dead lock cinch Woodward would say that? Because last season, when Mike Minor had 199 strikeouts and he had two outs in the last inning of his last game and the batter hit an easy foul pop up to first and Minor yelled at Ronald Guzman to drop it and he did drop it and then Minor struck out the batter for his two hundredth strike out and afterward Woodward laughed it off as those guys being a couple of knuckleheads, that’s how you know he would have been fine with it.
It’s disrespecting the game only when the other team does it. It’s an insult to humanity only if it’s the other team. If it’s your team, it’s okay.
Whatever. Just play the game and try not to give up grand slams.
*****
TODAY’S GAME:
Adrian Morejon (0-0, -.–) vs. Mike Minor (0-3, 5.49)
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