Ten unwritten baseball rules you might not know

[Bogus Smith]

I thought that this may be of interest to those of you who want to know some of the "game inside of the game" that goes on. Source: Yahoo! Sports

The 'Code': Ten unwritten baseball rules you might not know

By Jason Turbow

Ed. note: Jason Turbow is author of the new, critically-acclaimed book "The Baseball Codes." It's available for purchase through the book's Web site.

Last month, when A's pitcher Dallas Braden called out Alex Rodriguez for cutting across the Oakland Coliseum mound, the country was informed of a small slice of baseball's Code that had lain mostly dormant in recent memory.

It was only one of a litany of unwritten rules that covers major leaguers' actions, designed essentially to preserve a baseline level of respect between competitors. They constitute the moral fabric of the game.

The best known of these rules tells players not to steal a base when their team holds a big lead in the late innings of a game. Others include barring overt displays of exuberance in all but the most extreme circumstances; the hitter who watches his own home runs is the most egregious of violators in this category.

Many fans have heard of these rules (Alex Rodriguez himself was unaware of one). Some sections of the Code, however, fly under the radar (even for baseball insiders, to judge by the number of people within the game who had never heard the rule about restraint from crossing the pitcher's mound).

So, without further delay, here are 10 of baseball's more obscure unwritten rules:

1. Don't swing at the first pitch after back-to-back home runs

This is a matter of courtesy, respect for a pitcher who is clearly struggling, offering just a sliver of daylight with which to regain his senses. When Yankees rookie Chase Wright(notes) gave up back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers against Boston in 2007, the guys who hit numbers three and four — Mike Lowell(notes) and Jason Varitek(notes) — each watched a pitch before taking a cut.

"Let him know, okay, I'm not swinging," said Hal McRae. "I know you're out there trying to do a job, and I have to do a job — but you've just given up back-to-back home runs. So I take the first pitch."

2. Don't work the count when your team is up or down by a lot

This is true for both pitchers and hitters. Nobody wants to see the fifth guy on a bullpen's depth chart nibbling on the corners in the late innings of a blowout. Similarly, hitters are expected to swing at anything close. It's an effort to quickly and efficiently end a lopsided contest.

3. When hit by a pitch, don't rub the mark.

This one is all about intimidation or lack thereof. It's a hitter's way of telling the pitcher that his best shot — intentional or otherwise —didn't hurt. Pete Rose made a point of sprinting to first base after being hit, to ensure that he stripped all satisfaction from the pitcher.

"It's a macho thing, like a fighter who gets clocked in the mouth and shakes his head like it didn't hurt him," said Rich Donnelly. "But believe me, it hurts."

Lou Brock was the only hitter Sandy Koufax ever threw at intentionally, and despite the fact that his shoulder was fractured by the pitch, forcing him from the game, never once did he rub the spot. The Washington Post once reported that Don Baylor "was hit by 267 pitches yet never rubbed, even once. Of course, several of the balls had to be hospitalized."

4. Don't stand on the dirt cutout at home plate while a pitcher is warming up

Just as Braden dismissed A-Rod's attempt to enter his sacred space, the area around the plate is meant only for the hitter, and then only when it's time for him to hit. Should a pitcher be getting loose before an at-bat, it's strictly off-limits. "I stay as far away from the cutout as I can when the pitcher is warming up," said Ken Griffey Jr.(notes) "If they could, they should put the on-deck circle in left field to make me happy. I don't want anything to do with messing with the pitcher when he's getting ready."

5. Don't walk in front of a catcher or umpire when getting into batter's box

This is respect, pure and simple. If the line from your dugout to the batter's box takes you between the pitcher and the catcher, walk around. Like the A-Rod incident, you'll likely never hear about this one until a player is called out for brazenly violating it.

6. Don't help the opposition make a play (bracing them from falling into the dugout, etc.)

In 1998, Dodgers left fielder Matt Luke braced Arizona's Andy Fox as the third baseman staggered into the Los Angeles dugout while chasing a pop fly. He knew the Code, but he had also been Fox's roommate in multiple levels of the Yankees' minor-league system, and was so tight with him that Fox had served as an usher in his wedding. Even then, he had his limits. "I waited until he made the play," said Luke in the Riverside Press Enterprise. "I wanted to prevent an injury. We're competing out there, and not for one second do I want to help the opposition."

7. Relievers take it easy when facing other relievers

The caveat to this piece of the Code is that for the most part, relievers don't step to the plate in close games, which gives their counterparts on the opposing team some leeway in their approach. "You'd probably give them all fastballs," said Dave LaRoche. "It was just a professional courtesy type of thing. Here it is — I'll give you a chance to hit it if you can."

8. Follow the umpire's Code when addressing them on the field.

This is a book in itself. How one talks to umpires goes a long way toward getting favorable calls, or at least not getting thrown out of a game. ("That call was horse----" is generally acceptable; "You're horse----" is never acceptable.) Some savvy teams go so far as to post headshots and bios in the clubhouse for the umps working that day's game, so that players can butter them up a bit.

Still, there are ways to express anger without getting tossed. After umpire Shag Crawford called Dick Groat out on a play at second base, Groat told him, "You're still the second best umpire in the league." Then he added that the other 19 umpires were tied for first.

9. Pitchers stay in the dugout at least until the end of the inning in which they get pulled

This is purely about respect for one's teammates. "I know you're having a tough day, but give your teammates the respect to stay out here until the end of the inning," said Sean Casey(notes). "You don't want to show that you think the game's already lost."

10. Pitchers never show up their fielders

This doesn't happen frequently, but when it does, players notice. One pitcher who made a habit of excessive body language on the mound was Gaylord Perry, who would put his hands on his hips and stare down fielders who made errors behind him.

"That bothered me because nobody glared at him if he gave up a home run or something like that," said Dave Nelson, Perry's teammate on the Rangers. "I always felt like I deserved the same respect because I'm out there busting my butt just like he is, and if I make an error, it wasn't because I was doing it on purpose."

Perry's teammate in Cleveland, Oscar Gamble, had a different take: "If you don't do right, if you miss a ball you should have caught, you expect the fans to boo you," he said. "And this fan, Gaylord, was a player. That's the way I looked at it."

Perry, however, was occasionally able to find his fielders innocent of wrongdoing. Once, after shortstop Todd Cruz fielded a grounder and air-mailed the ball into the stands, Perry withheld judgment. "Too much stuff on the ball," he said after the game.

For more on baseball's unwritten rules, visit TheBaseballCodes.com

[Old Titan]

That's great stuff.

Though, it stands to reason that Rules #4 and #5 have as much to do with safety as anything else: you don't want to get a ball thrown in your ear standing or walking between the pitcher/catcher/umpire during warm-ups or between at-bats.

Also, #6 has a basis in the actual rules: you can't have the opposition grabbing a fielder as he heads toward the dugout trying to catch a pop-up: it could be considered interference if he doesn't make the catch, and if such a thing was allowed, you would see the opposition tackling fielders on critical plays near the dugout, and then feigning "sportsmanship" as the reason why they grabbed the guy.

Finally, another unwritten rule that Evan Longoria broke yesterday in the A's-Ray's game: a batter is never supposed to attempt a drag bunt for a base hit when the opposition pitcher is working on a no-hitter (or in this case, a perfect game).

That is, unless the batter doesn't mind getting plunked by the next pitcher, but there's a whole 'nuther unwritten book about "When-it's-OK-to-throw-at-batters-and-when-it's-OK-to-charge-the-mound" that is deserving of an entirely separate article.

[tmh8286]

I agree, excellent article. I think walking over the mound would have made the list if the entire world wasn't made aware of it by the Alex Rodriguez/Dallas Braden controversy, further reinforced by Braden's perfect game yesterday. Braden put on quite a display over that one. Interestingly, I haven't been able to find any video of A-Rod actually crossing the mound, only Braden's reponse to it. I read somewhere yesterday that Braden says they'll need to settle it with fists if A-Rod does it again!!

To me, the most interesting one is, don't swing at the first pitch after back-to-back home runs. It shows baseball players DO have hearts after all!! My favorite line in the article came from unwritten rule #3: "The Washington Post once reported that Don Baylor "was hit by 267 pitches yet never rubbed, even once. Of course, several of the balls had to be hospitalized."

[tmh8286]

May be getting a little off subject here, but pursuing the Braden/Rodriguez deal a little further, here's the oft-quoted interview of Dallas Braden after the incident. It's pretty enlightening (although I may be the only one on the board that hasn't already seen it). He talks about some of the nuances of baseball that inspire such love and devotion to the game by so many people. This kid seems to have his head on straight:

Dallas Braden's Message for A-Rod

Glad he pitched that perfect game yesterday as a follow-up to all the other. Strikes me as a likable guy.

I might add, the web site that the "Ten Rules" article references - TheBaseballCodes.com - has TONS of fascinating stuff on it. It's actually a site devoted to the day-to-day infractions of the unwritten rules by major-leaguers, and it's really interesting reading. If you're having a slow day . . .

[tmh8286]

Here's a follow-up to the above "Ten Rules", with interviews of three pitchers, Jim Palmer, Bert Blyleven and Goose Gossage, on how they handled "infractions". Very enlightening:

Unwritten rules violations

Lesson to be learned from this piece: don't mess with Goos Gossage.

[Old Titan]

Again, I think the "you-don't-swing-at-the-first-pitch-after-back-to-back-jacks" rule was originally a safety issue from the batter's standpoint: in the old days - and sometimes still - the first pitch in that situation was a brush back pitch at best, and a beanball at worst. By "taking" the first pitch of the at-bat, you're alert to anything thrown your way, and can take evasive actions.

The last thing you want as a batter is to be leaning in and taking a big rip, while an inside fastball rides in on your melon.

[tmh8286]

You're taking all the fun out of these unwritten rules, OT. The last thing we need with stuff like this is practicality. After reading these articles today I think that players need to spend their off time reading up on all the unwritten rules. It would be hard to keep up with all of them, especially when one guy wants to take your head off for an infraction, and another doesn't care one way or the other about the same rule. The article I posted earlier said that even his teammates were afraid to "violate" Goose Gossage's mound; Palmer, on the other hand, couldn't care less whether someone crossed his mound - EVEN WHEN HE WAS ON IT!!! Talk about open to interpretation!!!

I've enjoyed reading all this stuff on baseball's unwritten rules so much I'm tempted to buy the guy's book on the subject - bound to be some interesting reading there.

[theeagleman5]

Tell us more about Don Baylors' balls......

[tmh8286]

Tell us more about Don Baylors' balls......

They went to the hospital - that's all I know . . .

[ManiacAlum]

The first time I've heard the "don't rub the mark" rule was a few weeks ago when I heard Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson give an interview. I had no idea that was a thing...Gibson laughed about some of the guys that fought hard not to show they were in pain on 1st base.

How awesome is it for Braden to throw a perfect game on Mother's Day after losing his mom to cancer as a HS senior? Especially after the run-in with A-Rod.... he's always been annoying, but after finally having some success in the postseason last year, A-Rod is just as smug as ever.

I didn't know it was one of baseball's unwritten rules, but even I knew it's a respect thing not to run across the mound... also, in that situation, it makes me wonder why A-Rod was running so hard on a 1-0, 1 out flare that fell foul. He wasn't going on the pitch, and there's no way he thought that ball was going to drop fair. Almost makes me think he sprinted all the way to 3rd, just to prance across the mound... or maybe it's just because I think A-Rod's a phony.