The most enduring attributes of baseball.....especially played at the Major League level.....has always been its craftsmanship of skillsets play...and the grace of its sportsmanship. The craftsmanship is still here....however.....the "grace" is in peril by the advent of a new "change of attitude/valuing" of good sportsmanship as evidenced by the "display" of unforgivable disrespect shown by Jose Bautista at the plate in game # 5 between TEXAS and TORONTO. Some have put forth the idea that Bautista did it on the "spur of the moment"...almost unconsciously.....and did not do it "deliberately" with the INTENT to disrespect his opponent. The "eye test" dispels this notion immediately when you observe the 3-5 seconds he CLEARLY took to admire the flight of the ball(at the plate).....then to look one way...then another....and THEN...after these seconds of considering his next move....then proplelling...not a simple "flip"...PROPELLING the bat skyward with extreme flourish......designed by his intent to communicate only one thing......to DISRESPECT the opponent. The act was the statement "f--# YOU TEXAS....this is what I think of you all....look at me!" When Bautista says he wasn't trying to do this...he I a liar. Anyone who can tell me that he wasn't trying to do this.....is lying to himself to "rationalize" his behavior. If he had done this in bygone eras.....say with catchers like Thurman Munson...or Johnny Bench.....or Carlton Fiske behind the plate....he would have been late getting to first base on his trot.....he would have been still at the plate getting his as s kicked. If Bob Gibson had been on the mound .....he would have kicked Bautista's as s when he got there. Some say "this is today's game"....things change. The "time" has never gotten too"modern" for Golden Principles like good sportsmanship to be "out of vogue". The NFL has taken steps in recent years to preserve good sportsmanship by installing "no taunting" penalties and getting rid of the "sack dance".....and "excessive celebration". MLB needs to address this before it gets to the "MLB GONE WILD" level of behaviors. If they don't I can see the day where it will get to the point where batters will openly flip "the bird' to the pitcher and /or shout to him "fu--k you!" upon hitting the homer. I hope MLB corrects this before the game devolves into a WWF style reality show display.
Oh no, my widdle baby feelings were hurt because he flipped his bat. Boo hoo. [video=youtube;WBne4CokKBU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=WBne4CokKBU[/video]
obviously you lack the depth to intelligently pen a meaningful response to my well considered thread. You could at least refrain from putting on display your pathetic attempt to reply...in which you have made it apparent to all herein that the only thing juvenile here.......is anything you might offer.
If that's what you call a well considered thread, well, I would most certainly disagree with that assessment. The only thing missing from my experience was a nasally, weak, whining voice reading it to me, portraying themselves as a victim of horrible wrongdoings after witnessing such an atrocious act. The continuous excessive punctuation of periods ".........." lets me know there was heavy outbursts of sobbing between thoughts. If flipping a bat offends someone, I'm guessing anything will.
I would keep it up, but I wouldn't want to offend you. I'm guessing passive aggressive posts are even worse than bat flipping.
Instead of resorting to smart aleck replies why not write a reasoned response in which you show why my points are wrong. Tell us why what Bautista did was appropriate play for a MLB player.......an example as role model for boys learning to play the game with respect/honor to the game.....and is something that lends itself to enjoyable watching for the fans. Are you capable of doing THAT? Thrall us with your acumen.
If I have to explain to you that throwing a tantrum over something as minor as bat flipping is way overboard than I'm not sure this conversation is going to go anywhere. NFL, college, and high school football players (the most popular sport in America) line up every single play saying the most offensive things they can muster to each other. They knowingly try to end someone's career or seriously injure them if it only costs their team 15 yards. The highest payed DT in the NFL is the dirtiest player in the league, and you're worried about the youth of America losing respect for an opponent based on a in-the-moment situation of bat flipping. If there was ever a ridiculous cause to rally behind in sports, it would be the opposition of bat flipping.
There may be some merit to what you say as to a simple.......routine flip of the bat......my point is that Bautista's was "beyond the pale" as they say. His particular "flip" was disrespectful and overboard. This time at least I can respect your offering as you left the smart aleck jabs out of it. Your post this time is an illustration of the point I intended to make ....ANYTHING.....bat flipping plate appearances....or the reply to a post....can be done in a way that is respectful.....or not. YES.....SUH is the dirtiest player in the NFL.
