CRITIQUING PASSION VS. BAD SPORTSMANSHIP

I was on Twitter over the weekend and one of the guys on there mentioned to me that ESPN’s commentators suggested that they wouldn’t be surprised if Nick Swisher got plunked the next time he came to the plate. It apparently came up in Baseball Tonight by John Kruk HERE., after all the game was televised on FOX. Now I didn’t hear it, I didn’t see it but it didn’t surprise me that it was true, and that it was John Kruk. Why would he say that? Because Nick Swisher helped bring his Yankees all the way back from a 9-0 hole to take a lead 12-9 on Saturday and he pounded his chest…not as a signal of bad sportsmanship, but as a sense of accomplishment and passion.  When I read that Tweet of what the ESPN commentators may had said, I realized they just didn’t get it and I'm surprised at Kruk, but you know what? Shame on ESPN… they’ve been in the tank for the Red Sox forever, it’s the YES network of the Red Sox, but they just incorporate other sports as well just to make it seem like they’re on the level…that’s how I feel anyway.

But back to my point... I’ll never cut down a player for achieving a goal like coming back from a 9-0 hole…EVER and that goes for any player at any time.  The Sox swept the Yankees in 4 straight games in 2004. Sure, as a Yankees fan it stung like hell, it still does, but I would expect chest pounding by the Sox. I didn’t stick around to see if that happened, I turned the TV off when I knew the Yankees had officially lost.

Now there are some things that annoy the crap out of me. For instance, if you crank out a homer to bring your team into the lead and your pointing at the pitcher as you circle the bases. You do that and you’re getting plunked, and you deserve it… no doubt about it. That’s bad sportsmanship and not only that…at that point, you’re just being a dickhead.

The difference between that example and say Kirk Gibson’s historic homer in 1988 is simple; Gibson didn’t shout at the pitcher, or point, he kept it isolated, revving his engine or fist pumping around the bases for a huge moment in baseball…a moment he knew we’d be talking about all these years later.  He knew it was big. Pointing at the pitcher, or standing in the batter’s box after a towering shot...that's ego, it’s arrogant and in my opinion, you deserve anything coming to you after that. It’s just how I feel.

It goes all the way back to Little League.  This past weekend a kid on our team yelled at another kid, “You’re out! You’re out! You’re out!” I said “You never do that to the other team…ever! If you do, you’re not playing.”  The competition starts early, you need to nip it in the bud or it unravels to moments like pointing at the pitcher or mocking them in the batter’s box. That’s not only bad sportsmanship, it’s foolish.

So yeah, a fist pump or a chest pounded when warranted… I’m on board with that. Getting excited because you just got your team a win on a walk off…I’m with you. But standing there in the box while you launch one into the seats in the first inning of a baseball game? Arrogant much?  I expect you to take the next pitch on the chin in your next at bat and believe me... you shouldn’t be surprised… that’s my take.

But make no doubt about it, John Kruk has it wrong...but why should he have it right...he now works for ESPN.

ORDER A BYB SHIRT NOW, DROB WEARS ONE! Also, Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.