Comments on: High and Inside: Morality and Revenge in Baseball

By: Richard Spilman

Richard Spilman — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:52:46 +0000

I wondered if there were any difference in the stats between the American and National Leagues. One would think there might be, since it is possible in the National league to bean the offending pitcher. I would think National League fans might prefer that scenario to the beaning of an innocent party.

By: John

John — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:57:57 +0000

You’re missing the obvious. It’s not just about revenge. The threat of retaliation protects players from being hit deliberately. If players on one team know they will become targets when their pitchers throw at opposing players, they will discourage their pitchers from throwing at opposing players. Pitchers that routinely cause their teammates to take 95 mph fastballs in the ribs are very unpopular in the clubhouse. See Carlos Zambrano.

By: James

James — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 20:18:24 +0000

The clan analysis doesn’t add up to me. If my clan takes out someone in the neighboring clan in redress, the biggest risk is further retaliation. That doesn’t compute in baseball, where the goal isn’t preservation or honor, but to win the game. I’ve never understood the value of hitting the other team’s batter intentionally. It help’s the other team by putting a man on base. The biggest risk is that you lose the game. An interesting followup would be a survey of pitchers who choose to hurt their team’s chances of winning by effectively helping the other team. What is the reward? Perhaps it’s like peacock feathers or other displays of risky behavior.

By: Roger Green

Roger Green — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:25:06 +0000

Maybe morality in baseball will rise when Americans admit that its iconic game is a variant of the English game rounders, and that baseball more-or-less as it is played now was first played in southern Ontario (then British North America) and not in New York State. I look forward to visiting Cooperstown New York and seeing this history portrayed in the “Baseball Hall of Fame”. But having had my early education in US primary and secondary schools, I know very well how patriotically bowlderized American history is. It was only after I moved to Canada that I realized that (a) the American Revolution was mostly about escaping debts owed to British landlords, and that (b) the US did not win the War of 1812.

By: Carl Walter

Carl Walter — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 23:35:28 +0000

We are the 99%.
Take action!
Stand up to predatory lenders and profiteers that get rich from detention centers and private correctional institutions.
Participate in direct, non violent tactics and confront the powers that be.
Don’t bean the authorities with bottles, bricks and rocks.
Object to the call if you don’t like it!
If the umpire is unfair then the manager should come out of the dug out to object on the field.
Thanks, for the article Joseph.
I’m a big Saint Louis Cardinal fan.

By: Lem G.

Lem G. — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:58:21 +0000

When Little Leaguers see the pros doing retaliatory brushbacks and “chin music” it doesn’t send much of a moral and ethical example. Ted Williams made it a point to hit a line drive up the middle as a message to any pitcher that threw up and in near his head on his next at bat.
Hall of Fame manager “Marse Joe” McCarthy like to tell his team that brush backs are a compliment to a hitter from an opposing pitcher that has struggled against them. He would not ask his pitchers to retaliate and let the umpires take away his options over the course of an entire season. He reasoned that over the entire regular season schedule, things had a way of balancing things out.
Risking getting one of his starting pitchers tossed from a game for an intentional retaliatory inside pitch was NOT a sound move in McCarthy’s approach to the game.

By: scooter

scooter — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:56:09 +0000

I agree with the conclusion, but the Us vs. Them mentality is not only during the “heat of the game.” If two teams came upon each other after the game, say at a bar, then vicarious punishment would still be in effect. In other words, Us vs. Them would last all season long, 24/7 — not just at the ballpark.

By: Steven Alexander

Steven Alexander — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:09:33 +0000

Please remember where the word fan come from – fanatic. Maybe outside the stadium they are fanatics and back at the office they are fans.

By: Jesse Reisner

Jesse Reisner — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:51:30 +0000

Interesting article, but I believe the use of “beanball” is incorrect. A beanball is a pitch thrown at the batter’s head, which is always unacceptable no matter what one thinks of retaliating by hitting another part of an unoffending batter’s body.

By: Gary W Hummel

Gary W Hummel — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:36:56 +0000

Unfortunately, the “us versus them” scenario has permeated mutliple aspects of societal activity. One of its worst manifestations is in our politics. It contributes to mass fragmentation of our society, holds back progress, and makes us less of a nation.

By: Gary

Gary — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:33:16 +0000

The primary reason for hitting a different player on the opposing team is that the pitcher who threw the bean ball will probably not come up to bat again in that game or series. In the American League, he would most likely never come to bat due to the DH rule.

By: gabe

gabe — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:05:06 +0000

This is great, thanks Joseph. Wanted to let you know about a piece we published about the history of violence in baseball, written by baseball historian Peter Morris. Great read and a nice companion to your post. http://goo.gl/hSgGq