Chapin: Players compete first, then entertain

A recent online story about baseball asserted that the game should embrace colorful characters, off-beat antics and overt emotional outbursts for their entertainment value.

Baseball has a history of frowning upon those kinds of actions, mostly due to the length of the season and the nature of the game. Over the course of 162 games there are so many ups and downs for a team and individual players that strong reactions to either could take an emotional toll.

In addition, because there are so many matchups between pitcher and batter within a game and within a season it is counter-productive to overly celebrate successes. If a player makes some sort of an emotional gesture (or worse, a choreographed gesture) after a home run or a big strikeout (for a pitcher) what does he do the next time when he fails in a similar situation?

The reason the “trash talking in your face” attitude has been frowned upon almost forever in baseball is because the minute you think you have an advantage over an opponent, boom, he has whipped your butt and all your talking and gesturing makes you look foolish. Also, if a hitter gets too mouthy or shows off a bit too much he might find a baseball headed toward his ear the next time up.

Aside: The same is true, in my opinion, for football and basketball. How many times have you seen a defensive back jawing at a receiver or quarterback after breaking up a pass? Then two plays later that DB gets burned in the end zone for a touchdown. What are you going to say now? How about you just shut up at the end of each play and go back to the huddle.

Back to baseball. The writer of the story in question acknowledged the current state of baseball but argued that things should change. He avowed that outspoken and outlandish conduct on the field should be embraced by the game for its … (wait for it) … entertainment value.

Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t they keeping score at these games? And aren’t wins and losses tallied and recorded in something called the standings? And don’t the winners (and sometimes near-losers) at the end of the season advance to compete for a championship?

Now I find a heartfelt celebration at home plate after a walk-off home run as entertaining as the next fan. And I’ve got no problem with a pitcher giving a small fist pump after getting a bases-loaded strikeout. But don’t give me arrow-shooting or exaggerated bat flipping or 45-second trots around the bases after a home run.

The game is entertaining enough without all of that crap. Great defensive plays, clutch hits, stolen bases, runners going first-to-third, big strikeouts in key situations … why do you need a couple of morons jawing at each other?

And the entertainment factor should not be the most important. I know, 20- and 30-somethings have to have something to tweet or vine or whatever or they get bored. And I know attendance and, more importantly, television ratings are down. But don’t screw up a great game by turning it into a form of reality show.

Remember, the competition is the important thing. Think back to those days before the Civil War when the game was starting to become popular. You had a bunch of guys going out to an empty field and playing. They codified the rules, changed them when they felt necessary and played — to win.

There were no fans (except maybe friends and family), no team owners, no ticket sales, no concession stands. It was just a bunch of guys competing in a game and trying to win.

That should be the object of any game. To win, not to entertain.

Write Vindicator sportswriter Doug Chapin at dchapin@vindy.com