About Shawn Pagee Expertise True SF giants fan, I have strong knowledge of baseball, and Giants personnel from a baseball standpoint. Won`t give the ra-ra answers, may be critical..
Experience Former pro and college player and coach.
Expert: Shawn Pagee Date: 7/27/2001 Subject: Diamondback/Giants Game
Question I am interested in the situation that arose last weekend when the Diamondbacks visited the Giants. Matt Williams was at the plate and the ball was thrown behind him. The pitcher was ejected and the game continued. I have heard it mentioned that the pitcher aimed at the batter in retaliation because Williams had swung at a ball in the top of the 5th inning when the count was 3 and 0. Is there something wrong swinging with a 3 and 0 count? The fact that it was the top of the 5th seems to have something to do with this. I am puzzled and hope you can explain.
Thank you in advance.
Nancy Slater Hartman
Answer Hi Nancy,
This is a good question, and is something that has come up alot this year, "The Unwritten Rules" of baseball. Baseball has always been known as a gentlemen's game, and therefore there are things that you do and don't do as a courtesy... There are a few things that have come up this season that the press has jumped on yet they have failed to explain the reasons behind what happens.. unless you watch Baseball Tonight on ESPN.. Anyway, in that certain situation with Matt Williams, he swung at a 3-0 pitch in a lopsided game... Anything more than 5 or 6 runs after the 5th is considered lopsided in pro ball, and it is certain that a pitcher is going to lay the ball in the stike zone just to get a strike. Sorry if I am getting long winded, but it is a multifaceted rule. I guess basically it means that when the game is NOT on the line, and you do something that can be considered selfish, like upping your statistics, it is breaking an unwritten rule.
Now the big deal on this, or something that added to the fury, is that the D-backs this year were caught complaining about the Padres catcher bunting in the late innnings of a no-hitter, and the D-backs thought that was classless and that he was merely trying to break up the no-hitter. THAT game however was a 2-0 score and the catcher was NOT breaking any gentlemen's rules, he was merely trying to help his team get the tieing run to bat...
Another thing that happened 7/29 that was seen as a breech of the unwritten rules was Rickey Henderson's steal of 2nd base in a game in which his team was up by 7 runs.. Again, anything that is done in an effort to boost your stats, and is not done to WIN the game is a breech of the "Unwritten Rules of Baseball". Jeez, this is a long answer, let me know if you need more. I guess if you play any sport, and it seems that the opposition is running up the score, it is unsportsmanlike, and that is basically what these "Rules" are.
