The latest proof of baseball's pop cultural slide into poor taste oblivion is the sad evolution of the bean ball. What was once more often a mistake thrown by high heat flamethrowers has now become too much of a sportsman's mind game used by pitchers with more will to win than good judgment or common sense. Pitching INSIDE is one thing. Throwing wild juice AT someone is flirting with a manslaughter charge.
In the NHL, which is already a sport more violent than skillful, you can purposefully injure an opponent as part of normal game play and go unpunished. In soccer, you can trip up a charging goal scorer in the heat of the chase and only be issued a yellow card. But in ML baseball, a game in which the defense controls the ball and game play unfolds up front and center, it is hard to justify deadly mound tactics and condone a win at all costs mentality.
For nowhere in any baseball text or rule book does it say that bean balls are part of the game. In essense, offending pitchers are saying they're willing to jeopardize someone's life to dictate the strike zone so as to dominate the batter/pitcher dual and win a game. And it's a uncivilized way to play the game as much now as it was 100 years ago. Indeed, it is the pugilistic equivalent of a low blow. No one should get away with it regardless of intent.
Strangely enough, only one player in MLB history -- Cleveland's Ray Chapman at the hands of Yank Carl Mays in 1920 -- lost his life after being hit in the head by a "wild" pitch. If he were alive today, I wonder what he would say to Mike Piazza, who is all too often a prime target for his slugging. If I were Mike and Roger Clemens threw at me on purpose, I would not stop brawling until The Rocket was in the hospital and unable to throw at anyone else.
He pitches like Mike Tyson fought. Thus only dirty fight tactics would put him in his place. Two wrongs don't make a right. But if it saves a life in the future, then Clemens needs to be taught a lesson or be formally chastised by MLB before he hurts someone. Because gamesmanship by way of violent assault has no place in any game or sport.
As a player, The Rocket has always defied description. He's a throwback. But for all the wrong reasons. He no doubt has a chip on his shoulder like Ty Cobb did. He plays baseball like an animal. He'd be much more at home as a bloodied linebacker in football or at the business end of a heavyweight haymaker in boxing. If anyone deserves to be made an example of, it's him.
However, unlike the deadly head shots he hurls at batters who own him, some interleague play ace should aim at his throwing arm to even the score.
Even ESPN's esteemed Joe Morgan agrees that retaliation is in order. After that, the powers that be can change the rules so that pitchers who lose control accidentally or intentionally will give up a RUN and not just a free pass. Think of the brawls and injuries that would be avoided via the score column. Then bean ball bullies would think twice before they gave up a score to send a message. But MLB can't wait until someone gets killed again to act. By then it will be too late.
» Hank Festa is a would-be fireballer who would rather remain a fan than take a man's life into his hands playing a kid's game.
Also by Hank Festa
» Seasons In The Sun : Baseball In The 70s
» A Closet GM's Philosophy Of Winning: Stats & Role vs. Heart & Soul
» Gibby's '88 Series Limp Shot: Baseball's Last "Earned Home Run"
» Flamethrower's Epiphany: Confessions Of A Live Arm
» In The Event Of A Strike...: The Time Off Must Be Used to Fix the Game
» More submissions
Copyright © 2002 by Hank Festa. Posted June 17, 2002.
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