THROW AT MINE, I THROW AT YOURS

I am an unapologetic fan of Baseball’s unwritten retaliation rule.  I NEVER think a pitcher should intentionally throw at a batter.  It is extremely dangerous and wrong.  However, if the intent is there, I feel it is well within an opposing pitcher’s right to defend his guys and hurl a message pitch.

A BP fastball to the butt cheek should cover it.  Nothing at the head mind you, just enough to let them know you’re there and you don’t take S*** off anybody.  It’s like my Dad told me as a kid, “If you are a big enough man to throw a punch, you should be a big enough man to know one is probably coming back your way.”

Earlier today, the Skipper of BYB wrote a great post on Derek Jeter giving David Ortiz the forum to address his alleged use of PEDs on the Players' Tribune.

Skip's piece was titled JETER'S BIG MISTAKE. Whatever your take on the topic is, do me, do the world and yourself a favor, and READ MORE THAN THE HEADLINE before you hop on Twitter and flex your snarky social media muscles!  My post here is really not about baseball at all.  It’s about not letting anyone throw inside on my Skipper.  Jabs are way over the top, often personal on Twitter and folks have no problem throwing up and in because they are safe and sound hidden from the people they carelessly attack.

Right off the, bat the piece was in NO way unkind to the former Yankee Captain.  And by the way, I love Jeet too, but he didn’t walk on water, cure disease or fall on a grenade for his platoon.  Derek is a class act, and a true champion in every respect, but even Jeter can make a mistake now and again.  We sometimes forget that because of what he means to the Yankees, the game of baseball, and the city of New York.  Again, Skip's piece was not a shot and DJ at all, but I’d estimate that more than 85-90% of today's readership just saw the title and fired away.

I wish it were just in the Sports World that this knee jerk anger was running wild.  It’s a real problem throughout our country on all fronts! Sports, Pop culture and Politics are just a mess and social media is the arena where the anonymous and angry get to thrive.  It’s sad.  We are less and less thorough and more and more uninformed and anti-social because we looked at a ticker and used it as information. Skip's title is provocative. Oh yeah and by the way, HIS OPINION of what Jeter did wrong in today's edition of the Tribune.  That's it.

People these days do the, “Read the headline...attack the messenger and never know what the body of work said.” And some people are cool with that. I'm not and you shouldn't be either.  WE HAVE TO READ IT ALL! READ EVERY WORD before we pass judgment or worse, fire off a hateful tweet or verbal shot.

When did we lose our way so badly?  What the hell is wrong with us?  We need a closed-door team meeting ASAFP, folks!  We need to learn to listen, talk and read again.  I’m pretty damn sick and tired of it.  It’s everywhere you go!  I used to just shake my head and walk on, but now if I see it, I will say something.  Pot shots from the cheap seats means you’re probably uniformed or worse…a coward.

Don’t throw that pitch unless you are ready to have one with your name on it DELIVERED PRIORITY MAIL!

See ya at the library, gang.  Have a nice day.


**Don’t be tough, it doesn’t work for you.**





 
--Mike O'Hara
Senior "Features" Writer
Twitter: @mikeyoh21




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