Remember back when it was a game? When the hitters didn’t wear body armor, the pitchers wanted to own their half of the plate, the catchers weren’t afraid to whip one past the batters’ ears if he thought they were doing something wrong. And the umpires called the strike zone in accordance with the rules and let the players play according to the unwritten rules. Everyone knew what they were. I could have titled my part of this blogosphere What Would Don Drysdale Do? or What Would Nolan Ryan Do? Since it’s my column and my hero, I went with What Would Bob Gibson Do.
Here’s an old skool real-life scenario — Frank Robinson would dig-in against the pitcher trying to intimidate him. And if you were any pitcher not named Gibson or Drysdale you would be intimidated. Drysdale or Gibson would simply throw at him or anyone for that matter. In the HBO documentary, When It Was A Game, they show a video highlight of 4 pitches. Mano a Mano. Robinson against Drysdale. On each pitch Robinson would dig in and Drysdale threw at him. 4 balls. One walk. Neither man gave in.
So, I was wondering, in today’s game, where everyone seems to be so lovey-dovey, WWBGD? A few weeks ago in Spring Training, a young Yankees player slid spikes high into a young Rays player. The names aren’t important. What is important is that back in the Pete Rose bowling over Ray Fosse in an All-Star game day this would have been an everyday getting ready for the season experience.
I didn’t hear one of the talking heads say anything positive about the play. They talked about the outrage of someone playing dirty like that in Spring Training. To quote Animal House, “What was he supposed to do, you Mo-Ron.”
And I asked myself, “WWBGD?” My wife heard me say this and asked, “what?” I said, “nuttin’ honey.”
Here’s what I think. If he [HEAVEN FORBID] was a NY Yankee, when the Yankees player arrived at the dugout, Gibby would have been sitting there alone with a wry smile on his face and he probably would have gotten up, simply shook the young man’s hand and said something innocuous like, “Good job, son.”
If OTOH he was a Tampa Rays pitcher and was on the mound, he would have put his first pitch in the middle of the first Yankees’ batter’s back, who would have simply trotted down to first base, trying to show that he wasn’t hurt by the pitch. The umpire would have picked up the ball, rubbed a bit, thrown it back to Hoot and said, “Batter Up.”
Watch this space for more WWBGD. Or if you have WWBGD question, feel free to contact me here.
Fans in Oklahoma City have a chance to see Houston Astros infielder Kaz Matsui this week. Matsui continues his recovery from pre-season surgery by joining Triple A affiliate Round Rock Express for the team’s three-game series against the Oklahoma Redhawks.
