If you’re the type that gets your feelings hurt very easily and tends to get overly angry or sad when losing at sports, and you need your opponents to go easy you, you might want to consider a career as a Major League Baseball player, where there are actual unwritten rules to make sure that you never get your feelings hurt, and in today’s video we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Sissiest Unwritten Rules of Major League Baseball, created only to make sure that feelings are kept unhurt, because 20-40 year old men can be very emotional. They’re like children actually - you have to be very careful not to hurt the other teams feelings, otherwise, do you know what happens? They throw a baseball at you as hard as they can. Yes, if you break one of these rules, they’ll go ahead and throw a hard object at you at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour. Then, you must retaliate and throw a baseball back at them. Then, everybody runs on the field and fights each other. So, without further ado, let’s go ahead and jump right into some of the most ridiculous and sissy unwritten rules in Major League Baseball.
#10 No Crying in Baseball
I had to start with the most ironic and hypocritical rule of all – there’s no crying in baseball. Well, literally anyway – you’re not supposed to actually shed tears, but you can certainly cry. And players do all the time, in fact, that’s what this whole video is about. They cry over the other team scoring too many runs, cry over hitters admiring a home run or flipping their bat, they even cry over bunts during multiple situations. Imagine getting mad because your opponent bunts. Anyway, let’s continue the list.
#9 Don’t Rub The Area you Were Hit-by-a-Pitch
Okay, this is another one makes the list because of the pure hypocrisy. Let me get this straight, if you get hit by a 99 MPH fastball and touch or rub the area to get a bit of relief from the pain, you’re a sissy and seen as weak… but if you score 6 or 7 runs and then keep trying to score more by stealing or bunting to extend the lead – you are a big meanie and it hurts our feelings!! I’ll tell you this, if I get hit by a pitch and it hurts and want to rub it a little, I’m rubbing it. That’s a lot less weak than getting mad over my opponent trying too hard because I have no confidence and feel like the game’s already over.
#8 No Stepping on the Pitcher’s Mound
I can kind of understand this one and how if would be annoying for pitchers to have all the players just running over the mound in between innings. So, it comes in as one the least sissiest unwritten rules. Still, if a player ever does cut across the mound while jogging to and from the dugout, a pitcher might completely over-react to another human being having the nerve to step on their mound. Here’s Dallas Braden after Alex Rodriguez took a short cut back to the dugout, crossing over the mound while jogging back the dugout after being throw out during a double play.
#7 Don’t Admire a Home Run
I’m putting this one at #7 because there can be times a player can go a little too far – I do think just standing there and watching it without moving is a bit much – like, you can run now - but in general if a hitter wants to enjoy the moment, celebrate a little, even pimp the homer a little, so what? The score is the score regardless – celebrating doesn’t change that and pitchers are allowed to celebrate, pump their fists, scream in happiness after a big strikeout – so why can’t a hitter do the same after a big home run? Because it’s an unwritten rule, so you better get moving or the pitcher might have something to say. In the case of the legendary Madison Bumgarner, the unwritten rules are even more strict – don’t you dare swing too hard.
#6 No Swinging 3-0 With a Big Lead
Wait, what? Yes, if your team is leading big in a Major League Baseball game and you have a 3-0 count, even if you don’t get a take sign, you’re supposed to take the pitch. Because if you hit a home run, you might hurt some feelings and your own manager might call you out. This happened to Yermin Mercedes when he homered on a 3-0 pitch while his team had a comfortable lead. Tony La Russa was so upset, he said if it were up to him, he’d send up three relief pitchers to hit and make easy outs for the other team. But, does this rule apply to pitchers too? So, if a team has a big lead, do they have to throw a nice slow pitch right down the middle during an 0-2 count or do you still try to strike the hitter out? I’ve never heard of a pitching having to give a hitter an easy pitch, so it doesn’t apply to pitchers, just hitters.
Oh, and if you’re supposed to take it easy on a position player pitching – why? There are plenty of relief pitchers in the bullpen, especially nowadays with the runner on 2nd rule preventing long extra inning games. So, your team chose to give up and put in a position player and then the hitter is supposed to just get out on purpose and not do their best when this is their job, and their job performance is available for every one to see in the form of statistics which could effect their job status or next contract? I don’t think so, every hitter should do their best every at bat regardless of the count or who is pitching.
#5 Don’t Steal a Base when Leading By Too Many Runs
Not quite as stupid as the one after this, but if a runner at first base tries to steal second while leading by 6 or 7 runs or more, it is actually considered breaking the unwritten rules. You can’t try to get in scoring position to add some extra insurance, because apparently the other team has already given up and considers themselves helpless – they could never possibly catch up even though such comebacks have happened before and will happen again. So, I would think that by continuing to push and try to score, it shows respect for the opposing team and their capability to catch up. By not trying, it says – hey, ya’ll are so bad, we don’t even need to steal or try anymore – ya’ll have no chance anyway. Apparently, that’s less disrespectful than actually giving it your all and never counting your opponent out.
#4 Don’t Bunt When Leading by Too Many Runs
This one is even stupider – if you bunt for a hit while leading by too many runs, the other team gets upset. You’re scared of a bunt now? Ok, we’ll just swing away and hit more home runs. A bunt is not a guaranteed hit, and if you can’t defend it properly, that’s your problem. Just throw out the batter, or don’t – it’s not like they can keep bunting over and over. Why would a team be offended by a bunt? The hitter is simply doing their job and trying to get on base and yes, run up the score, to minimize the chance of blowing the lead. If you don’t like it, get some people out – your’e a major league baseball team with Major league pitchers, right? But even if you don’t steal or bunt, even scoring more runs and increasing your lead and be considered “Disrespectful.” You actually have to start taking more pitches, taking short leads, play station to station baseball, don’t try to score on a single from second – just go to third and stay there. Because, after all, there’s no need to score more – the other team sucks anyway and will never catch up. They even agree with that – which is why they’ll get mad if you run up the score too much.
#3 Don't swing at the first pitch if the last two hitters hit home runs.
Why? Because the hitter might actually hit a third home run? And what seems to be the problem?? If you can’t avoid allowing a home run to three straight batters, you might want to think about a career change. Here’s the deal – every hitter in the lineup has a contract that’s going to end, a career they want to continue, and a baseball card full of stats on the back. Every team is in a playoff hunt, at least for a large portion of the season, and trying to win as many games as possible. Every hitter has to take the approach that most helps them and their team, end of story. If two hitters just went deep, I’m going to be up there looking for something to hit and if comes on the first pitch, so be it.
#2 You Offend Us – We Throw a Baseball At You
I know this one will be an unpopular opinion, but Imagine if this happened in another sport. In the NBA, if you get upset you throw the basketball at the opposing player as hard as you can – it’s just a part of the game. In golf, Tiger Woods feels disrespected because Phil Mickelson showed too much flare during a swing – so he throws the golf ball at him as hard as he can, giving him a nice bruise. People would think he went insane. In baseball, it’s completely normal – if offended, you simply hit the batter on purpose, and most fans from what I can tell think this is a precious part of the game. In my opinion, it’s ridiculous and dangerous as if the pitcher misses his target, which they’re known to do, a serious injury could occur. Even if they do hit their target, they are intentionally physically harming another batter with a hard object – you know, in legal terms, something known as “assault” and technically, since at least one player, Ray Chapman, has died from getting hit by a pitch in the past, it could be considered “assault with a deadly weapon.” And it just makes the other team retaliate and do the same thing. Pitchers have been known to throw at batter who simply have done their job well. If a hitter smashes a couple homers, especially if he shows any emotion or doesn’t run out of the box immediately, he’s at risk of getting hit by a pitch – even if it takes years like in the case of Hunter Strickland and Bryce Harper. In that case, a huge brawl ensued when Strickland hit Harper more than 2 years after Harper hit a couple playoff bombs against him and the Giants’ Michael Morse ended up with a career-ending concussion in the dust up. Earlier this season, Ian Happ of the Cubs accidentally hit Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras with his backswing – he immediately apologized and the former teammates hugged. It was an obvious accident but that didn’t stop Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas from intentionally beaning him then getting pissed when he got tossed. Of course you got tossed – you obviously just intentionally hit a guy. Yeah, you not only give the opposing team a free baserunner but you risk ejection and you invite one of your own players to get hit by a pitch, leading to a possible brawl and serious injuries. But hey, it’s just part of the game.
#1 Don’t Bunt to Break up a No-Hitter
My #1 sissiest rule of all makes the least sense to me, because you actually have to try not to hurt the other team’s feelings while you’re the one getting your ass kicked. So, let me get this straight. If I’m an MLB hitter and my team is getting annihilated by a pitcher whose stuff is working like never before, I’m not allowed to get creative and try to bunt my way on to get something going and try to eventually score a run – because God-Forbid I actually do my job and get on base to break up the no-hitter. First of all, if bunting for a hit were so much easier than swinging for one, everybody would be bunting all the time. Second of all, this is Major League Baseball, teams are trying to get into the playoffs, and you have to find a way to win the game – I don’t care if the pitcher has a perfect game going in the 9th inning, if the game is still close, I want my team to try whatever they can to get a runner on base and try to win the game, because after all, you play to win the game.
And that does it for my Top 10 sissiest rules – some of them I understand to some extent, but I thought I’d have some fun with week’s countdown and talk about these ridiculous unwritten rules, many of which really are absolutely pathetic. Let me know what you think, however – I’m sure this will be an unpopular list and many will defend the great unwritten rules of the game – but these are just some of my thoughts, put yours down below.