Break out the figurative baseball rulebook, there’s an old-school “respect the game” argument to be had.
Monday night in Minnesota, Chicago White Sox DH Yermin Mercedes broke an unwritten rule of baseball by hitting a homerun on a 3-0 pitch with the White Sox up 15-4. The home run came off of a 47 MPH pitch — the slowest pitch hit for a home run since baseball started tracking pitch velocity according to ESPN — from infielder Willians Astudillo, who was only pitching due to the lopsided score.
Mercedes is well known as a free-spirit — as are many of baseball’s youngest stars — and declared that even if people were upset with him, he wouldn’t be changing his approach, according to ESPN.
“I’m always doing Yermin,” he said. “For that reason, I’m here right now. For that reason, you guys are talking to me right now. If I’m not Yermin, if I’m not doing that, nobody wants to talk to me, nobody wants to know what I’m doing.”
“I’m going to play my game,” Mercedes continued. “I can’t be another person. If I change, everything is going to change.”
Here’s the home run from Monday night:
The amount of raw power it takes to hit a 47 mph pitch this far. I NEED Yermin Mercedes in the home run derby. pic.twitter.com/REHFF039aM
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) May 18, 2021
While Mercedes didn’t feel that he had done anything to cross the line, his manager, and the Twins, certainly felt differently.
“Big mistake,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said on Tuesday. “I took several steps onto the field yelling, ‘Take, take, take.’ It was just the way he was set up, it looked to me like he was going to swing.”
“He missed a 3-0 take sign. With that kind of lead, that’s just sportsmanship and respect for the game, respect for your opponent. He made a mistake. So, there will be a consequence that he’ll have to endure here within our family. It won’t happen again.”
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On Tuesday night, Twins reliever Tyler Duffey retaliated by throwing behind Mercedes in the seventh inning, leading to the ejection of Duffey and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli.
Hope the Sox score 60 on 'em pic.twitter.com/Mqac1YHntK
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) May 19, 2021
The incident has once again sparked the conversation surrounding the unwritten rules of baseball. With a position player on the mound and the game clearly out of hand, there’s a contingent that feels it’s bad form to swing on a 3-0 count and run up the score. The other side, however, feels that once a position player is on the mound, all bets are off.
“If a position player is on the mound, there are no rules,” White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn said. “ Let’s get the damn game over with. And if you have a problem with whatever happened, then put a pitcher out there.”
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, not one for keeping his thoughts to himself, also chimed in on the controversy on Twitter.
Dear hitters: If you hit a 3-0 homer off me, I will not consider it a crime.
Dear people who are still mad about a hitter hitting: kindly get out of the game.
Can’t believe we’re still talking about 3-0 swings. If you don’t like it, managers or pitchers, just be better.
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) May 18, 2021
Major League Baseball is stuck between a rock and a hard place as they attempt to gain a younger, more energetic fanbase, while still trying to keep the traditions of the game intact. Whether or not the traditional fans approve, the old-school rules of the game are fading away, and while not everything needs to change, the game must adapt if it intends to survive.
This article has been revised for clarity.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Source: Dailywire
