I love baseball. I love watching, I love playing, I just love all of it. I regret that I haven't watched as much as I would have liked this year, but I have watched nearly all of the playoff games - and I love them! I love the excitement, the plays, the actions, the strategy and I love the rules. Yes, the rules. Its one of the reasons I love baseball so much! The rules are well defined - the base is X inches by X inches, the plate is SO wide, the bases are 90 feet apart. Everything has its dimensions and places. The players all follow the same set of rules and everything works out.
However, this year, I've noticed something for the first time that really pisses me off - the "neighborhood" unwritten rule, specifically as it is applied to a double-play. I didn't know it even had a name until my wife mentioned it.
In case you don't know what the unwritten neighborhood rule is, it goes something like this: according to the RULES (the written ones) during a short-stop to second base to first double play, the second baseman is REQUIRED to have the ball, touch the bag and then throw to first. The out is a direct result of the player with the ball touching the bag before the runner - actually TOUCHING the base IS required, not optional. Now, enter the "neighborhood" "rule" which is basically an agreement that the basebman doesn't actually have to TOUCH the bag, but just be near it. The intent behind the rule is fine - you don't want people getting hurt when they (the runner and the baseman) try to occupy the same space at the same time. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Watching these games, I've seen double-plays turned with the second baseman nowhere NEAR the bag, not hopping over it, not scooting by it, but just standing in the general vicinity of it. This is complete and utter BS. If the rules say you have to touch the damned bag, then by god, you should have to TOUCH the damned bag. The runners don't get to be safe by being NEAR the bag, and the outfielders can't ALMOST catch the ball - they actually have to perform the appropriate action.
This attitude that being "close enough" is good enough is one of the big problem that we face as a country. Everyone is content to be "in the neighborhood" of whatever and we aren't disciplining ourselves enough to actually finish the job we set out to do. We half ass things and then wonder why quality suffers. The "neighborhood" is NOT close enough. When my daughter is doing her math, if her answer isn't right but is in the "neighborhood" - ITS WRONG! 3+4=7. It doesn't equal six or eight.
I hate the "neighborhood." It is the bane of discipline and right answers. So, when you get the chance - try not to be in the neighborhood - just touch the base.
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2 comments:
I completely disagree with you. The neighborhood rule is necessary to protect the players. I actually play second base in a league, and when there is a runner bearing down at you, you sometimes have to move to the outside of the bag, and if the runner tries sliding to the outside of the bag, you might have to get off the bag maybe an inch or so, not ridiculously far off, to get out of the way. It actually is a legit rule.
Interesting comment. I too played baseball in the past - primarily second base and shortstop. So, from my own experience:
1. It's NOT a rule. No where is it listed as a rule.
2. While safety should indeed be a concern for the players, it seems that the players THEMSELVES should be concerned with it. It is the runner coming into second who is deliberately trying to take out the defensive player who is causing the dangerous situation. Watching these last few weeks of MLB (where the neighborhood non-rule is played the most), it appears that the rule has only changed WHERE the incoming runner chooses to slide. Now, instead of sliding to the bag, they are sliding upwards of five feet to either side in order to distract or take out the baseman. Instead of making play safer for anyone, the rule actually makes it more dangerous by not giving the defensive player ANYWHERE that could be considered safe.
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