Baseball is a great game, but at the same time, no sport gets in its own way more than baseball. We saw exactly why during Tuesday’s game between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.
The Giants had already built a nine-run lead in the second inning. It was a huge deficit for San Diego, sure, but there was still plenty of time for the Padres to theoretically chip away at the lead and make a game out of it. The Padres, instead, were too busy enforcing baseball’s unwritten rules for blowout etiquette.
In that second inning, the Padres were upset when Steven Duggar stole second with a nine-run lead. Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer called Duggar out about it, telling him he has to be “little bit smarter in that situation.”
The Padres also threw a little tantrum when Mauricio Dubon bunted in the sixth inning for a single with the Giants up nine runs.
Mauricio Dubon bunted for a hit with the Giants up nine.
The Padres weren't happy and Gabe Kapler had a word with his young player pic.twitter.com/eozjyySQ7h
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 13, 2022
Giants manager Gabe Kapler appeared to have a word with Dubon in the dugout, but after the game, Kapler stood by his player and refused to throw him under the bus.
Gabe Kapler says he supports Mauricio Dubon's decision to bunt in the sixth inning despite the Padres' objections pic.twitter.com/6yFiJeDwMf
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 13, 2022
But it’s tough to get over how salty the Padres were about all of that. If you’re upset about a player stealing a base with a big lead in the second inning, then why even continue the game? Just forfeit and move on to the next day because Hosmer essentially admitted that the Padres had already given up on that game.
You may also remember how upset Tony La Russa got last season with his own player, Yermin Mercedes, when Mercedes hit a 3-0 home run late in a blowout. As lame as that controversy was, it also showed how flawed these unwritten rules can be. You’re not allowed to hit home runs with a big lead. You’re not allowed to bunt with a big lead. Then, what are you allowed to do? There’s not much middle ground.
If teams don’t want to compete for nine innings then MLB should have a mercy rule because, as Kapler explained, the Giants wanted to eat into the Padres bullpen. They’re trying to win multiple games. They had something to play for even with the big lead. His team shouldn’t need to take the Padres’ feelings into account just because the Padres decided they were going to stop trying by the second inning.
MLB fans seemed tired of the unwritten rules too.