Baseball's "Unwritten Rules" Are Trash, Let's Be Rid of Them Already

If you've ever taken the field in any sport in a competitive capacity, you know that there is to be respect shown as well as general sportsmanship among teams.

This starts from the time you put on your baseball glove for the first time as a youth, to playing football in high school, to if you are good enough to take the field in any sport in college.

There's nothing wrong with showing that respect to fellow players, teammates, coaches and making sure you play the game "the right way."

What is ridiculous is the latest controversy in Major League Baseball regarding San Diego Padres budding superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and the anger over the grand slam he hit Monday night against the Texas Rangers.

If you've not been keeping track, Tatis took a 3-0 offering with the Padres leading the game 10-3 in the 8th inning and deposited it to the seats for a homer that some say was "wrong" based on the circumstances.

If you are one of those people that feel that Tatis should NOT have swung at the pitch with the game already well in hand and the count 3-0, you really need a reality check.

Yes it could be considered one baseball's "unwritten rules," that Tatis should have just taken the pitch, but also consider that it's still a competitive environment, one where if you don't want a situation to come up like this - don't let a team run all over you for eight innings.

Texas manager Chris Woodward didn't come out against the act, but clearly didn't feel that it was okay as the next batter (Manny Machado) was plunked and Woodward now faces a suspension.

The retaliation was bush league, and if you're mad that a slugger hit a grand slam against you - next time you face him strike him out - don't go throwing at the next batter because of hurt feelings.

These so-called "unwritten rules" in Major League Baseball need to be tossed out. The game has changed and most players are not even aware of these rules that they are supposed to follow during blowouts and all the rest.

Tatis actually did come out with apology, which is more than the cheating Houston Astros did after getting caught stealing signs during their World Series season.

The young superstar's four word apology for hitting a grand slam (sounds crazy doesn't it?) was simply “That was on me.”

But at the end of the day, it wasn't on Tatis, it was on the Rangers ugly pitching staff for allowing the game to get out of control to the point where they felt Tatis shouldn't have been swinging up seven runs on a 3-0 pitch.

Throwing at Machado was the move that should make people more upset, not a player hitting a homer in a competitive situation.

If you want an example of not letting a game that is out of hand start being played by silly "unwritten rules," look back 19 years ago when a certain Cleveland Indians team trailed the Seattle Mariners 12-0 in the third inning.

It was a game that was being aired on national television on ESPN, and it would have been easy for the Indians to start taking the beating personally.

Instead, they handled it like champions, coming back with a run here and there before finding themselves suddenly tied at 14 after nine innings.

A run in the 11th saw the Indians take home the improbable win, one that gets brought up often as a team that simply never gave up.

So sure the chances that the Rangers would have rallied down seven to tie the Padres before Tatis' homer was very unlikely, but don't say impossible.

In this day and age knowing how things can happen, it's crazy to tell players to take pitches, or don't swing in certain counts.

The fact that they then took "revenge" and hit Machado is the thing that really the Rangers should be embarrassed about, not what Tatis did.

Baseball is a sport of tradition, but with the numerous changes in 2020 due to an ever changing world, it's time to reassess.

Let's take the games "unwritten rules" and leave them in the past where they belong.

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For more from Matt Loede, follow him on Twitter @MattLoede. Follow CBI on Twitter @IndiansonSI