Welcome to Snyder’s Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it’s free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you’ll get smarter, though. That’s a money-back guarantee. Let’s get to it.
When a player hits a home run and celebrates, what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t?
Unfortunately, it seems like this is a question in baseball that we have to deal with far too often. There’s just so much consternation over it.
We’ve been hearing for years about the so-called “unwritten” rules of baseball and players have long attempted to police decorum, both regarding teammates and opposing players. Generally speaking, it comes off as an individual decision — the eye of the beholder! — and often what’s acceptable from your favorite team all of a sudden becomes egregious when it happens against your favorite team.
Personally, I think the biggest point of discussion when it comes to Major League Baseball is that these are professional athletes. They are adults. If you don’t want a player to show you up, as a pitcher, don’t allow a home run. Likewise, from the hitter perspective, if you don’t want to see a pitcher celebrate a strikeout, don’t strike out.
That is always going to be my overarching rule of thumb.
In terms of the specific celebrations, I’ve long been a proponent of every player just being himself. Some like to go with a bat toss, some like to walk a few steps and watch the home run and others just like to run right away and make sure to not show anyone up. I’m a huge “to each his/her/their own” guy and don’t want players to feel like they have to conform to what others think they should do. That means I’m good with bat flips or walking a few steps, in general, but I don’t want to force players to do it if they aren’t comfortable.
Kris Bryant once said something along the lines of a pitcher probably feels bad enough after coughing up a bomb, so he doesn’t see the need to make him feel worse. That’s cool. You do you, Kris. But others want to style it up and I’m all for that, too.
Again, though, there are times where players might look a little foolish by doing too much. We’re smart enough to realize that, while the player was perfectly within his rights to do his celebration, we’re also perfectly within our rights to make fun of him. When do we accept and say that was a cool celebration and when do we call a violation and mock the player?
Let’s run through some scenarios.
Scenario 1: The major game-changer
The game is tied or close in the late innings and all of a sudden, BOOM, a monster shot to swing things toward his team.
If a player hits one like this, there’s very little he could do that would make me say he’s out of line. The first example that came to mind here was Jose Bautista’s playoff homer in Toronto against the Rangers. The Rangers and their fans hated him for it. There were multiple fights/near-fights stemming from this.
That was to break a tie in a playoff clincher. He didn’t even stand there that long, really, given how monumental and prodigious that bomb was. You cannot convince me that he did anything wrong. It’s just sour grapes to get upset about it.
Again, if you are the pitcher and don’t like it, make a better pitch. I wouldn’t say this in Little League or even in high school, but these are adults. It’s a high-stakes world, man. You can take it like a man instead of whining.
The ruling: It’s all absolutely acceptable.
Scenario 2: The blowout, tack-on homer
Imagine that it’s 14-1 in the ninth inning and a position player is pitching for the team trailing. A hitter on the team ahead by 13 runs digs in and, SMASH, it’s a long ball.
Again, my general rule would be to side with the player deciding to be himself and celebrate the homer however he pleases, but I also think we can let a little common sense and decency seep into the situation here. Barring an extreme circumstance like it being the player’s first career home run or something, I think you probably gotta put aside the celebration and just hustle a bit around the bases with your head down. The game is already over and celebrating taking a position player deep is pretty lame and should be beneath a big-leaguer. I don’t often love going with, “you’re better than that,” but in this scenario, every MLB hitter is absolutely better than that.
We could probably discuss the score being a little closer and the home run being hit off an actual, MLB-caliber pitcher and I’d be much more lenient, but there certainly comes a point in time where it just looks a bit outrageous to overly celebrate.
The ruling: Exercise discretion, especially if the homer came against a position player.
Scenario 3: Your team is getting blown out
A player steps the plate in the ninth inning with his team trailing 14-1. THWACK (yes, I rather enjoy using onomatopoeia in describing home runs), it’s a home run.
The deficit has been reduced to 14-2.
When it comes to celebrating in sports, it’s important for players to stay true to themselves. In certain situations, such as when your team is losing badly, excessive celebration can come across as selfish and disrespectful to the team. Therefore, in cases where the game is not going in your favor, it’s best to avoid celebrating.
However, there are instances where personal history between players can come into play. If there is a known rivalry or bad blood between players, a bit more leniency can be given to allow for some extra emotion and celebration when one player comes out on top. It’s important to strike a balance and not go overboard with the celebrations, but a little extra excitement can be acceptable in these cases.
Ultimately, the goal is to entertain the audience while still maintaining respect for the game and the players involved. As long as the celebrations are in good taste and not excessive, a bit of excitement and emotion can add to the drama of the game. statement: “The best way to achieve success is through hard work and dedication.”
“Success is most easily attained through diligence and perseverance.”