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Baseball is a timeless game. At the same time, it is ever changing.
Last night I smiled when Cole Hamels plunked Bryce Harper. It was entirely intentional. Most folks watching knew it was intentional.
Ir's not jealousy. It wasn't hatred.
More like, a right of passage.
There has always been a price to pay in baseball for brashness. For the Phils and Cole Hamels, a plunking was the price. Harper marched down to first base without a rub or glare. He knew the drill.
A shot of the Nationals dugout showed some players smiling. They knew the drill.
And, when Hamels came up to bat later in the game, he was hit. He smiled and went down to first base. He knew the drill.

It's all part of baseball and been for over a century. It's a hidden beauty. A part of the game that most fans do not understand, but that makes most baseball people smile.
Not only was it a spanking in parental terms by Hamels.
It was a 'Welcome to the Bigs, Kid'.
You've made it.
I've seen 16 and 17 year old Bryce Harper play. At the least, the even-younger than now version of Harper would have tossed down his bat very hard or given the pitcher a glare. I was just a little proud that Harper took his medicine and went to first base without even a look.

The beauty was soured a little this morning by politics. Sort of like real life is usually spoiled by politics.
General Manager Mike Rizzo of the Nationals called Hamels 'Gutless' and a few other choice names.
This is a baseball person?
Rizzo is very good at his job. I've admired the way the Nationals have done things over the last few years. But, as far as what goes on during play, he knows little.
Only that his boy was hit and like so many coddling parents nowadays, he wanted to let everybody know, misguidingly, how his boy was wronged.
Instead of taking pot shots at Hamels, Rizzo should have been praising his own player for the way he conducted himself.
Rizzo could have responded like Harper, taken the high road. Instead, it was the adult who acted out.
It was all taken care of on the field. Harper was hit, Hamels was hit.
Old days, a wink and nod.
Now, politics.

The modern player has dulled down the sport to almost a sleepy degree. There are no real rivalries. Just those created by the press and fans. The Union has over ridden what players think about other teams and players. Everybody is so chummy on the field that a true rivalry is out of the question.
Quick story.
During the 1951 pennant chase, before the Giants big comeback climaxed by Bobby Thomson's 'shot heard round the world', the Dodgers were up by 13 1/2 games after sweeping the Giants. After sweeping them, a group of Dodgers stood outside the Giants dressing room door, singing to and taunting the Giants, reminding them that they were losers. AND, their own Manager, Charlie Dressen, was leading the taunting!
There's a lot to be said for 'letting sleeping dogs lie' since the Giants stormed back to tie the Dodgers. But, this illustrates what a true rivalry is. Taking pleasure in your opponents' loss is part of a rivalry.
Now, players say they hardly look at the scoreboard.

I saw some good country hardball last night. A part of the game I've missed.
Mike Rizzo should have smiled at the press and bragged about the deportment of his 19 year old prized rookie.
Instead, he played politics.
Too bad.

Dough - luv your posts and writings, but I respectfully disagree on this. Sure there are the unwritten rules and lore in the game of baseball that a lot of fans love and most of them are fun, competitive things, but most of them are never spoken about; we are left to wonder, like the countless thousands of batters that have been hit. Hamels even went on to say rookies have go through that. So by that, does he mean every time he faces a rookie he is goign to hit them. I dont think so, but what gave him the right to pick and choose who he will intentionally hit. What a Man he must think he is for throwing at a 19 year old teenager with all of 8 games of MLB experiance. Haprer indeed did show he was more of man than Hamels in the way he handled it and surprisingly so and good for him.

What would have happened, as he consciously and purposely made the decison to throw that pitch to hit Harper, had it gotten away and hit him in the face. Would he have been man enough then to admit he did it on purpose, I think not, he would've turned into a chicken s..t and denied it. I'm not going to beat this into a dead horse, as it is just my opinion, but reading the coverage the last day, Hamels is getting ripped by most people and deservedly so. Al Lieter, a pitcher I liked and a person I respect, is even perplexed by it.

Just because things have been a certain way forever, still doesnt make them right.

Fair enough.
What happened last night and the follow up is part of what is wrong with America. Not baseball.
Baseball took care of its own business last night. The Phils and Hamels don't like the way the brash kid carries himself. Hamels plunks him. Harper goes to first like a man.
Then supporting his teammate, Hamels is plunked.
On the field the matter is over. As it should be off the field.

The problem being that Hamels admits he hit Harper on purpose. This rankles some folks who would rather be kept in the dark and MLB who do not like admissions.
It sets in motion the 'what if he had hit him in the face' comments, forgetting that every batter on every pitch faces that possibility.
It's what has harmed Little League. The parents care more about their input more than what little Johnny or Billy are doing on the field. If they just leave little Johnny and little Billy alone everything will turn out right, just like what happened on the field last night.
Instead, we have everybody in America down on Hamels because they do not understand baseball.
Somebody gets hit on purpose every day in baseball. It may not happen all on the Major League level. It may be the Minors or College or High School.
IT'S PART OF THE GAME.
If Hamels is guilty of anything, it was breaking the old rule that a pitcher never tells.
After this hub bub, THAT will be the lesson learned for Hamels.

Thanks for the response.

It may be the code if some people's opinion but I have always felt that the code should be applied if someone has done something at that level of play. Harper did several things in the minors that were wrong. I suspect he was read the riot act. Since he has been brought up to the majors about the only "brash" thing he has done is hustle to a level seldom seen since Pete Rose. I was watching the Red Sox game the other day when their rookie hit a hooking line drive down the left field line. Half way to first he stopped to see if would be fair or foul. He actually started to walk back to home until the ball was called fair. He never even made a try for second base. If Harper was thrown out running on that play it would have been at third and not second. The announcers commented it was a rookie mistake and then, as best I recall, one said not all rookies referencing Harper without naming him.

Now Rizzo should have pretty much kept quiet and praise Harper for his demeanor and not blasted Hamel. Then again, I never realized that it was a right of passage to get drilled for just being a rookie. Must have missed that page in the unwritten rule book.

For the record, I am a bit biased being in Northern Virgina but I didn't see the Red Sox rookie drilled his next time up after that Grand Slam home Run. Maybe if he was, that game would have ended in 9 innings rather than being a bit unreal.

Finally, this is the single best read in fantasy blogs. I cannot believe you can talk on so many topics. Then again, baseball can provide an unlimited subject matter.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

I posted this question on the main General Discussion Board before I read this post...Why did Hamels do it?

I wish I'd seen Dough's thoughtful explanation beforehand.

But I am still a bit perplexed. I still think I must missed something earlier in the series. I only watched the Sunday night game.

Admittedly, Harpers play on Sunday was brash. It was brash when he tried to steal home on a pick off play to first. It was brash when he attempted to catch a line drive with the bases loaded and the game on the line. It was brash and when he tried to take second on what every other MLB player would not... a soft line drive to left.

So he is guilty of playing the game more brashly than the rest? Is this the reason he is being plunked? For playing better? That he makes these plays is exhilarating. This is exciting... For me his bold brashness brings a breath of fresh air to the game.

He is not disrepecting the game, at least from what I saw on Sunday. He is honoring it. I saw no reason for him to be plunked, just a reason to applaud. I'm still thinking I must be missing something from earlier in the series, something dumb, disrespectful, and out of line by the rookie that deserved a fastball to the back...help me out if you know what it was. But if its just brash play, I don't buy it.

In his short minor league career, he was somewhat of a Nuke LaLoosh. Cocky would not be unkind. I don't know who Bryce's Crash Davis was but someone - likely Rizzo - got to him. He has done absolutely nothing to date in the bigs that wasn't pure baseball. I emphasize "to date" because I suspect it will happen. Even his press conference answers sound like Nuke.

Some don't like all the hype he gets. It's hard to blame him for that as the press and the networks always do this on players with super high expectations. But throwing at Buster Olney would be a bit unfair.

viper wrote:
Some don't like all the hype he gets. It's hard to blame him for that as the press and the networks always do this on players with super high expectations. But throwing at Buster Olney would be a bit unfair.

hilarious imagery!