In lieu of actual baseball, I’ll be posting snippets that were cut from The Baseball Codes as a way of amusing myself and, hopefully, you. Today’s theme: showboating and celebrations These old stories help show just how far baseball has come.

Marty Marion once took his time in the batter’s box, smoothing out the dirt while Whitlow Wyatt stood on the mound and waited. When Marion finally finished, the indignant Wyatt shouted in, “You ready?”

With his next pitch, Wyatt knocked Marion down. The hitter, fully expecting it, got up laughing. One pitch later, Wyatt hit him in the ribs. “Jesus Christ, Whit!” Marion yelled.

The pitcher had a ready response. “Don’t laugh when I’m on the mound,” he said.