Baseball has plenty of celebrations as well. But just like in football, there are defined lines that are pretty clear on what is appropriate. If you sack a QB in football and then taunt him in front of his face, it's a clear sign of disrespect and you're in all likelihood going to cause a fight. In baseball, flipping your bat is a clear sign of disrespect. Bautista knows this. And in a series that has had emotions running high, he clearly was doing this as a sign of disrespect. No one flips their bat after a solo homer when they are down 5 runs.
CyYoung31 (05-19-2017), GovClintonTyree (05-19-2017), Hawk (05-20-2017), jpx7 (05-19-2017)
That's your opinion. I actually share that opinion to a point. The problem is MLB writers have set a precedent that great players on bad teams can win the award. Which means our opinions don't really matter on it. Freeman had as good of a chance as anyone else to win it had he kept his pace.
I don't understand why people are so incessant about being upset about any of it. Who cares if a player flips his bat? But also, who cares if players on the other team get upset about a player flipping his bat?
I love when teams get pissed at each other. What is far more entertaining than a guy flipping his bat and no one caring? A guy flipping his bat, the other team getting ticked, hitting the player with a pitch, and everyone generally being upset at each other. That is fascinating to watch.
Last edited by smootness; 05-19-2017 at 08:38 AM.
jpx7 (05-19-2017)
CyYoung31 (05-19-2017)
Knucksie (05-19-2017)
First Freeman, and now Johansen. The sports gods hate me.
I agree with that. I think the best way to counteract this is to simply allow umpires to eject players for excessive celebration. Now you don't want to strictly enforce it because you want players to be able to show their personality, but in situations like this I do think everyone in the country could clearly tell that Bautista did this to stir up trouble.