Great read on ESPN...I know, ESPN? Imagine that....

[_Sir_Charles_]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/column...arting9/100505

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, a perennial All-Star and Hall of Fame-caliber lightning rod, recently landed in the middle of controversy with a seemingly harmless jog across San Francisco's East Bay. When Rodriguez cut across the pitcher's mound during a game against Oakland, A's pitcher Dallas Braden took offense and ripped him for his lack of professional courtesy. The incident set off a major turf war and prompted some inflammatory back-and-forth in the papers.

Who knew? Each time a player tests the game's "unwritten rules,'' it spurs debate about what is and isn't kosher. One man's gamesmanship is another's breach of baseball's internal code.

Great, great stuff from 3 all-time great pitchers Palmer, Blyleven & Gossage. Not too many pitchers today show this type of mentality.

[Bumstead]

Gotta love Gossage and Blyleven. Already was a big fan of those two, now I'm a bigger fan!

Bum

[_Sir_Charles_]

I guess it could've just been the mentality of Weaver...but Palmer seems really passive in regards to a lot of this stuff.

But that added to the article IMO. Wide perspectives from the same era.

[Chip R]

I guess it could've just been the mentality of Weaver...but Palmer seems really passive in regards to a lot of this stuff.

It seems that was the Orioles' way and was ingrained in the minors. If you read palmer's comments he says, "I learned that from Cal Ripkin, Sr..." and "We were taught not to wear your emotions on your sleeve..."

[Johnny Footstool]

Blyleven, on batters standing and admiring their own homers:

I guess you can ask Jose Canseco that question. He did it and I accidentally hit him in the chest area his next time up. There were some words exchanged, all from me basically, saying, 'The next time you hit a home run, run around the darned bases. You think you're so big and strong.' That type of thing.

[durl]

Nice article. The perspective from those three pitchers was really interesting. I'm with Bumstead: Blyleven and Gossage are something else.

I'm not a fan of watching hitters admire their home run shots. I thought Palmer touched on something interesting in that regard. What if pitchers were to make a big deal when they strike out a batter? Or if a fielder made a nice play followed by some form of display? I think it's safe to say that hitters and baserunners would be livid.

[RedsBaron]

Interesting article, but I have long thought that there are some inconsistencies in the supposed unwritten rules. If a hitter isn't supposed to try to hit a home run in a runaway game, why is the pitcher expected to try to strike out the hitter? I don't care if the score is 17-0, if on a 3-0 count the pitcher is such a sissy that he just tosses one down the middle I hope the hitter creams it.
I also hate showboating, but if it is okay to hit a batter with a pitch because he previously hit a home run then why is it not okay for the batter to whack the pitcher with the bat if he strikes out?
There were a lot of things about Pete Rose I did not like, but one of the things I liked was that if Rose came up to the plate in the 8th inning of a 17-0 game he was not going to just go through the motions; he would still try to get a hit, just as he would in a scoreless game.