Baseball is for Babies

In the immortal words of Tom Hanks, "There's no crying in baseball!"

Or at least there USED to be no crying in baseball. Baseball used to be a man's game. Hard slides, knocking the crap out of the catcher on a close play, pitchers throwing high and inside on batters who crowd the plate, all of this has been part of the game, literally, for centuries. In fact, one of the best things about Major League Baseball is that the traditional ways of doing things still remain whereas most of the other leagues, the NBA in particular, have done away with the traditional values of their respective games. You've got to be tough to take an inside pitch and then step right back up, dust the dirt off your jersey, and stick your shoulder right back over the plate.

But this generation of baseball players is different. In reality the general attitude of the players sums up the attitude of our entire society.

Last night during the Red Sox - Indians game I witnessed a perfect example of why baseball is no longer a game for men but for babies. Josh Beckett was pitching to Kenny Lofton, two players, by the way, that I really like. Beckett issued a pitch that Lofton thought to be Ball 4 (turned out to be Strike 2). Instead of tossing his bat to the bench he threw it down on home plate. Beckett took offense to the action and on the following pitch he gave a yell/release of emotion as Lofton popped up. Lofton, after seeing the out had been made, turned back to Beckett and yelled at him, apparently unhappy with Beckett's shout of joy at getting the out. A small confrontation insused, calling for the bench to be half emptied to break up the two players.

Seriously? We've got to have a little scuff over something as small as this? This series is played to decide who moves on to THE WORLD SERIES. Beckett is the only pitcher on his team who can buy a win and Lofton is a key part of a team that is one win away from a chance at the ring. Do we really need to stop down the game over a dropped bat and a fist pumping yell? That wouldn't have happened 30, 20, even 5 years ago. Lofton would have walked back to the bench intent on getting a hit in his next at bat and likewise Beckett would have walked back to the mound intent on planting a ball in Lofton's back if pulled the same stunt again. No yelling at each other on the base path, no mini, half hearted confrontation that was so unnecessary that the teams didn't even come off the bench for. The two would have settled it in the tradition of the game.

Baseball players these days are babies. (Notice, I didn't say girls. I've known plenty of female athletes with more respect for the way the game is played than today's MLB players.) Kenny Lofton played basketball at Arizona University but I must say if he's going to react to tiny things like a fist pump the way he did tonight he'd NEVER make it in the NBA, regardless of talent. Basketball players are VICIOUS with their trash talk. Gary Payton, the King of Smack, talks about how he would start with the guy's mom, then his wife, then his stats, and continue on down the list until he found something that set the guy off. How would Lofton react to Payton jawing in his ear all night or Dirk Nowitzki's fist pump after a big shot? Would he take offense and get up in the guy's face?

Baseball players, grow up. This is an emotional game. If you can't handle a guy yelling after he gets the out then go play chess. There are ways to handle this sort of thing and the great thing about baseball is that it is within the rules to handle these things! Leave this stuff to the fans and media blowhards and worry about, oh I don't know, WINNING THE WORLD SERIES! Get over it and play the game.