Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sports

There’s No Crying in Baseball

Sore losers and name callers undermine the national pastime

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
 Ryne Sandberg at his Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 2005.

By Chris Renaldo

I recently had the pleasure a coaching a team of 8- to-10 year-old baseball players in a local “coach pitch” league. Despite their youth, I encouraged my charges to “just play baseball.” Booting ground balls, striking out, hitting home runs, winning and losing are all part of baseball, I told them; spewing sour grapes because you made an error or lost a game is not. I also encouraged my team to watch baseball on TV in order to learn the game. It’s not that I expected my “little leaguers” to play like big leaguers, but I guess I ignored the fact there are lot’s of big leaguers who act like 8-year-olds.

Let’s check the box score: Last week, Hall of Fame second baseman and current Class-A Peoria Chiefs skipper Ryne Sandberg was tossed from a game and suspended for facilitating a bench-clearing brawl. What led to this dust-up? Sandberg was upset when a batter from the Quad Cities River Bandits laid down a bunt in the sixth inning, with a 6-0 lead.

OK, I’m not here to blaspheme the baseball gods, but I’m pretty sure a 6-0 lead with three innings to play isn’t exactly a blowout or a fait accompli. I obviously missed Sandberg’s 2005 Hall of Fame induction speech, in which he congratulated himself for his love and respect for the game, and reiterated the super-secret unwritten rule of never showing up one’s opponent. 

But I didn’t miss this nugget of wisdom: “If this [induction] validates anything, it’s that learning how to bunt and hit and run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light at the dugout camera.”

Silly me, I thought Class A ball is where Hall of Famers like Ryne Sandberg learn how to bunt. And your love and respect for the game notwithstanding, as one of your Hall of Fame brothers once observed: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”

More recently, New York Mets pitcher Nelson Figuero, a player with a career record of 7-17, referred to the Washington Nationals as “cheerleading like a bunch of softball girls.” I suppose the Nationals could have countered with the irrefutable “I’m rubber, you’re glue” or “I know you are, but what am I” response, but I guess they were too tired from all the hitting and base running after their 10-4 bitch-slapping of the under-achieving Mutts. Who died and left Figueroa the custodian of MLB etiquette?

My distain for sore losers aside, I guess players of Figueroa’s ilk need to grab their 15 minutes after 10-4 losses, as it’s not likely he’s going to share his observations with us during his Hall of Fame induction.

C’mon, guys. Enough with the karaoke machismo and faux respect. I don’t recall any talk of unwritten rules and unspoken codes of conduct in Abner Doubleday’s rulebook. If you don’t want to be shown up, get a good night’s sleep and show up early for pre-game batting practice, infield practice and bullpen work. 

Seriously, you’re acting like girls. SP