Comments for The Baseball Codes

Comment on Hayhurst Takes Notes in the Clubhouse, Gets Offended When People Take Exception To his Taking of Notes in the Clubhouse by Patrick Murtha

Patrick Murtha — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:39:18 +0000

Matt McCarthy’s Odd Man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit – is a book of a similar type by a similar kind of guy (a Yale graduate, now a doctor). The book is a great read, although its accuracy has been questioned in spots. I believe that McCarthy was entirely clandestine about his note-taking. If I remember correctly, he had a book contract in place before he started the season’s play.

Comment on Mike Cameron: Code Over Glory by joe c.

joe c. — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:19:28 +0000

I always liked Cameron. He may have rubbed some wrong because he wore his hat sideways, but I thought he played the game hard and the right way. He always seemed to have solid numbers at the end of the year and since it seemed he was annually rumored to come to Houston, I kept up with him. He never made his way to the Minute Maid home bench, but if he had he would have immediately been one of my favorite Astros.

Comment on Mike Cameron: Code Over Glory by Jason Turbow

Jason Turbow — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:58:41 +0000

People are offended because it’s showboating. Cameron started untucking as a nod to his father, who would himself untuck after coming home from work. That offers some mitigation for folks predisposed to taking offense at things like this. (Brian Wilson’s cross-armed salute after saving games gains similar tolerance points, because it’s a salute to his own late father.)

The real problem began when shirt untucking stopped being a Mike Cameron thing and started to become a Brewers thing, with guys across the roster picking up the habit. Baseball is a buttoned-down sport, both metaphorically and literally, and some opponents don’t view the practice much differently than they do a guy who pimps his home runs. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun (among others) have been forced to avoid message pitches in response; only they can answer whether it’s worthwhile.

Comment on Mike Cameron: Code Over Glory by valleyman0505

valleyman0505 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:28:55 +0000

Interesting that Cameron comes up in an article about “The Code” considering all the hoopla around the shirt un-tucking tradition he started after wins with the Brewers. I still have not figured out why everyone was so offended by that.

Comment on Matt Kemp Still a Winner in Mattingly’s Book by Brian

Brian — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:35:09 +0000

Cal Ripken won for the 1991 Orioles. That was an awful 6th out of 7th place team.

Comment on Let’s Get Things Started! Parent Casts Season’s First Stone by Scott Waddell

Scott Waddell — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:10:07 +0000

Unfortunately, stirrups and double headers are outdated. I think the game is better with them.

Comment on Yes, There’s a Chance that Tony La Russa, Baseball’s Resident Expert on Retaliation, May Soon Get Even More Verbose on the Topic by 5toolplayer

5toolplayer — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:46:12 +0000

It’s his denials and/or terse explanations afterward that I get a kick out of.

Comment on Wordplay Taken to a Whole New Level by Jason Turbow

Jason Turbow — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:04:20 +0000

One doesn’t think enough before he speaks, the other thinks too much.

Comment on Matt Kemp Still a Winner in Mattingly’s Book by Jason Turbow

Jason Turbow — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:02:58 +0000

Without offering an opinion on what exactly was in Braun’s system — because, well, I just don’t know — I’ll take hearty issue with the notion that PEDs don’t help home runs. (This from a guy who covered the Giants as Barry Bonds’ power numbers were going nutso.) They won’t do much to help a guy hit a curveball, but if that guy already knew how to hit a curveball, they help him hit it a lot farther.

I’m content to write off Bonds/Clemens/etc. as products of their generation — especially the guys who proved to be Hall of Fame-worthy before juicing — but to deny that it helped them (or that it helped Braun, if that’s what he did) doesn’t hold much water.

Love the To-keep-or-not-to-keep discussion about Braun’s trophy, though. I think I’m in your camp about him keeping it, and love the fact that he showed up to accept it. (Would have been nice had he referenced the situation, but nobody’s perfect.)

Comment on Yes, There’s a Chance that Tony La Russa, Baseball’s Resident Expert on Retaliation, May Soon Get Even More Verbose on the Topic by Jason Turbow

Jason Turbow — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:53:37 +0000

I’m sure you use “a-hole” in the nicest possible connotation. Totally agree.