Sports Then and Now

On April 22nd, the lead story after Dallas Braden’s 4-2 win over the Yankees was not Braden’s then 3-0 record or his 2.77 ERA.  Instead, the most savory tidbit for post-game was the altercation between Braden and Alex Rodriguez after A-Rod’s disrespectful stroll over the mound.  Whether it was the fact that they were playing in Oakland or Braden’s reverence for the nuances of the game and disdain for high-paid prima donnas, he told Rodriguez, “Stay the [expletive] off my mound.  A-Rod’s response (aside from claimed ignorance of the significance of his trespass) was to break a second unwritten rule by impugning the skills of his opponent by saying, ” I’d never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career.”  Later, when asked about further comments made by Braden, A-Rod said, “I really don’t want to extend the 15 minutes of fame he already has.”

Box score from Braden's perfect game.

Grammar aside, Rodriguez’s hopes that Braden was going to be out of the papers crashed and burned on Sunday. During the Oakland’s Mother’s Day game against Tampa Bay , Dallas Braden went a long way to showing just how talented he can be and exactly who the pitcher’s mound at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum belongs to.  Braden became only the 19th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game. Read the rest of this entry →

Pitcher Dallas Braden did not appreciate A-Rod's shortcut.

In the sixth inning of the Yankee-A’s game on Thursday, Alex Rodriguez was rounding second and realized the play was moot and he jogged back to first.  The problem was, he crossed directly over the pitcher’s mound.  Dallas Braden, the now 3-0 A’s starter took exception to A-Rod’s lack of respect for baseball etiquette, and he told him so.  A-Rod, for his part, waved Braden off with a swat of his hand, much like a pesky fly.

So, what of this baseball etiquette thing. The term refers to the unwritten rules of baseball.  Examples of these include the idea that sliding hard is OK, but coming in with spikes high is not, stealing bases and bunting are OK, unless your up by 8 runs.  Another is be happy when you hit a home run, but don’t stand and watch it leave or expect to get someone plunked, and yet another is (according to Dallas Braden) don’t run across the pitcher’s mound. Read the rest of this entry →