Baseball’s Unwritten Rules Rear Ugly Head in Washington for Miami Marlins

Sep 11, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves players have an altercation with Miami Marlins players at home plate after Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (not pictured) hit a solo home run during the sixth inning at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins were once again involved in childish behavior on Thursday night. Bryce Harper crushed a three-run home run off of Marlins starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez to give the Washington Nationals a 3-0 lead. Alvarez took exception to something Harper or the Nats did and decided to plunk the Nationals short stop, Ian Desmond, the very next batter on a 3-0 count.

Manager Mike Redmond was quick to back his starting pitcher after the game:

“It was a 3-0 count, that ball, he just lost it,” Redmond said. “He obviously got up and in. That ball just got away from him.”

Nationals manager Davey Johnson did not quite see it the same way:

“Obviously, he intentionally hit him, and to me, that’s an ejection,” Johnson said. “The warning doesn’t do anything. This is the same guy that in Toronto hit Harp in the back after he hit a home run. But it’s real obvious when you give up a home run and then go 3-0 on a guy and drill him. To me, you’re throwing at somebody on purpose and I think the proper thing is to eject him.”

I personally have to side with Johnson on this one. Alvarez has been known for his strong control and he had a stare down into the Nationals dugout after hitting Desmond. Both sides were warned and nothing else came of the incident.

That is not however what I took exception to. Redmond had no issue with Alvarez plunking Desmond after a three-run homer and Alvarez not being happy about something with the Nationals.

Red did however have a problem with Jose Fernandez “showing up” the Atlanta Braves after hitting his first career home run. Redmond went as far as saying that Fernandez’s antics “ruined his night.” Talk about melodramatic, his team won the freaking game.

Redmond told the media that the Marlins are 30 games below .500 and have no right to “show the other team up.”  Here is his quote after the Marlins-Braves “brawl:”

“I think tonight showed some immaturity on Jose’s part and his youth — not to make excuses for it,” Redmond said. “Showing the other team up with a home run, that’s not what we’re doing here. That’s not what we’re trying to do. I know he got caught up in emotion, but I’m not happy. It really ruined the night for me. I know that will never happen again.“In this game you have to control everything. Your emotions are just as big a part of the game as your physical skills. You have to be able to emotionally slow the game down and all the things tonight brough — his last start, the Braves, big crowd — sometimes that shows he’s 21 and he’s human. He’s an emotional guy and that’s the part of the game he’s going to have to learn and get a hold of. You got to realize your going to give up a hit, you’re going to give up a home run. But like I said those are those some of the aspects of the game he’s going to have to continue to learn.”

Essentially, Redmond is okay with a Marlins pitcher intentionally plunking their opponent if they hit a home run, but “pimping” a home run is a big no-no.

Score another one for baseballs unwritten rules. You are allowed to get even by trying to injure the opponent rather than admiring when you do something well?