Baseball’s “Unwritten Rules” Take a Hit in San Francisco

The New York Mets are coming off a very successful road trip (5-2) to begin their season. Next up will be the Arizona Diamondbacks for the opening series at Citi Field, and they will be followed by the San Francisco Giants for their annual visit to Queens. The Giants will be a good, early-season test for the Mets. Last year, manager Gabe Kapler‘s crew posted a 107-55 record. So far this young season, Kapler and crew have made some news off the field.

It seems that the Giants have shunned some of, and intend to shun all of, of baseball’s “unwritten rules.” Exhibit A comes from the Giants’ game on April 12 against the Padres. In that game, San Francisco held a nine-run lead in the sixth inning, when Mauricio Dubon bunted for a base hit. Later in the game, Steven Duggar stole a base with a 10-run lead. These were not the rogue acts of two players, rather they were reflections of Kapler’s belief on how the game should be played.

In an article in The Athletic by Ken Rosenthal, Kapler said this:

“Major League Baseball for individual players is a game of survival. And Mauricio Dubón is depending upon his ability to be successful over a long period of time. He needs to use every tool at his disposal to be successful to stick at the major-league level, to demonstrate his value, to hone his craft. That doesn’t ebb and flow with the score. And it’s not just Mauricio. It’s Steven Duggar on the bases. It’s the pitcher on the mound. Everyone is competing on the baseball field. It doesn’t make any sense to have one part of the field stop competing and the other part keep competing.”

It’s 2022, so Kapler’s approach should be fine with current-day players, correct? Well, maybe not. Wil Myers of the Padres took notice of the disregard for baseball’s traditions. From the article referenced above:

“I think it’s something the whole league needs to take note on, to understand that this is an organization that now does not play by those rules.”

The Padres, of all teams, should be aware that the unwritten rules are no longer in vogue, at least not universally. It was their own Fernando Tatis Jr. who in 2020, famously hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch with this team holding a big lead.

Whitey Herzog once said that he would instruct his team to stop trying to score (particularly stealing bases) when the other team agreed to not try to come back in the game. Herzog is not wrong, as teams do rally after being down by substantial margins. Take the Mets game against the Phillies on April 13 as an example. The Mets were up 8-1. The Phillies started chipping away, and the game became anything but a laugher. The Mets would win 9-6, but would we, as fans (and the team for that matter), been more comfortable if the Mets had added a few more runs?

In addition to unwritten rules about stealing, bunting, and swinging 3-0 when holding a substantial lead, here are more baseball mores that don’t appear in a rule book:

• When leading by several runs late, play station-to-station on the base paths. Don’t score from second on a single.
• Don’t bunt for a hit when the pitcher is more than half way through a no-hitter.
• Swing the bat when your team has a big lead. Don’t try to work out a base-on-balls.
• Don’t bat-flip or admire a home run.
• Don’t rub the spot where you’re hit by a pitch.
• Don’t time your swings in the on-deck circle while a pitcher is warming up.
• Do not speaker to a pitcher who is throwing a no-hitter.
• Don’t run on the mound when going back to dugout after an out is made on the base paths.
• A pitcher removed from the game during an inning should remain in the dugout until the inning is over.

Do any of the “rules” make sense? They did at one point, which is how they earned their place of honor in the book of how things should be in baseball. Kapler feels that the imaginary book should be discarded. Importantly, from the article cited, he said his team would bear no ill will against any opposing team who similarly eschews conventional practices.

Next week, the Mets will see the San Francisco Giants. The Mets will be taking on a formidable foe, that plays the game very well on the field, and even a little non-traditionally. Perhaps Kapler is trying to get into the heads of his opponents.

The best way for the Mets to show the Giants that their antics do not matter is to beat them on the field. Starting on April 18, the Mets will have four chances to do just that at Citi Field.