Baseball's "code"

I thought I had heard of all baseball's unwritten code, but the A's pitcher complaining about A-Rod running across the mound is a new one to me.

And I remember Roger Clemens brushing guys back if they crowded the plate, then yelling at them, "that's my plate."

Here's my question: Do pitchers think they own the whole fucking field? Screw them.

 

That one was new to me, too.

But I question most of these unwritten rules. I certainly didn't agree with Prince Fielder getting beaned in a spring training game for celebrating a home run last season. I think that's pushing it a little bit.

 

I actually like the way A-rod handled it. Brushed it off as childish and said he thought it was more funny than anything else.

 

A-Rod was cleary being a dick by running across mound. I'm sure he knew it would rankle the guy. Like calling "I got it" a couple of years ago when Jays third baseman let pop up drop. (I cant remember the name of the third baseman, but I know like the A's pitcher, he was a young player. I'm sure not a coincidence.)
A-Rod had plausible deniability- he could look bemused and effectively say "Huh?"
But I'd bet a hundred he knew exactly what he was doing.

 

Pitchers are baseball's answer to football's wide receivers.

 

I always thought that players didn't run over the mound because they didn't want to risk spraining an ankle or something like that. I didn't know it was an unwritten rule.

One thing that probably hasn't happened in the last 50 years is guys bunting and then spiking the pitcher when he covered first. That was how they would retalitate if a pitcher kept throwing beanballs.

 

Pitchers rarely cover first on bunts. It's usually the first or second baseman.

 

I don't know if it's in the code or not, but I can't remember ever seeing a player run across the mound. So yeah, I think A-Rod knew exactly what he was doing.

 

Not running across the pitcher's mound is part of "The Code," so Rodriguez probably knew what he was doing. If Braden didn't make like Mt. St. Helen's, I think A-Rod's react quotes might have been more serious than dismissive. Braden had a right to be upset, but he certainly could have done without the histrionics. If it was me, I would have been barking at him a bit, but I wouldn't be kicking stuff and slamming my glove down like I was a Little Leaguer who just got lit up.

Also, hondo, the whole Clemens thing about the plate being his is just a typical psychological ploy used by power pitchers. Gibson did it, Ryan did it, Randy Johnson did it, so Clemens is not unique. He was just more vocal and more of an attention-whore than most others.

EDIT - Just to go off on a bit of a related tangent, I think baseball would be better served if players followed the old-school "Code" a little more. Stuff like standing still during the National Anthem, not walking across the mound and smarter use of retaliation. Meaning, nothing near the head and no ridiculous carry-over like the Giants did with Fielder, though I was very pleased with how he handled it. Given his past history, I was halfway expecting Fielder to rumble to the mound and steam-roll through Zito.

 

That's one reason why they don't anymore. Guys aren't going to spike the second baseman because the pitcher's throwing at him.

Ty Cobb was famous bunting and spiking pitchers (such as Carl Mays) who would throw at him.

 

I understand about pitchers like Clemens and Gibson establishing themselves around the plate. But is running across the mound when it's nothing that will affect the game now some kind of crime? I get it that if you can keep a guy from pushing the inside black, it gives the pitcher a wider berth, so to speak. But pitchers throw brushbacks for crowding the plate, peeking to see where the catcher is setting up, for runners on second stealing signs (from sloppy catchers, by the way), for a guy doing his home run trot too slowly (or for hitting a home run at all). Now you can't cross their sacred territory.

To repeat: Fuck pitchers. Fucking divas, all of them.

 

I'd never heard of the unwritten rule either, but I could see it being part of baseball code, though I think it's ridiculous.

But when I heard A-Rod was involved, I was both far from surprised and highly amused. I believe he knew exactly what he was doing.