A bit late on this but I've read a few interesting articles about the unwritten rules of baseball since the furore over Tatis Jr hitting a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch with his team quite comfortably ahead. I find it all rather silly yet mildly fascinating how seriously some of the old timers take these rules. I've only really been into baseball over the last 3 or 4 years and every now and then in a game the commentator will note about a certain rule here or there and you're left wondering what the fuck he's talking about or why it is even an unwritten rule in the first place.
Tatis Jr didn't see the third base coach signal not to swing, and wouldn't have if he had spotted him. But still, does anyone care or have any thoughts about these unwritten rules? Do they form a certain charm within the game of baseball or should they be obsolete?
It's a good question. While there's a charm and interesting historical factor to some of them, given the "gentlemanly" nature of how some of them came about, there's definitely a spectrum of how accepted these are and by whom.
On Tatis specifically, there have been quite a lot of support for him from a variety of people, including current and older ballplayers (Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench to name two older players). Given how the game changes over the years, some of these unwritten rules can be out of date, and I think it's important to have context. On not swinging 3-0 up a lot of runs, the eras change. Pitchers are giving up more HR/9 than ever (even compared to the steroid era of the 90s and early 00s). Walk rates are comparable to the steroid era. Pitcher ERAs in 2019 and 2020 are 12th and 15th highest all-time (dating back to the 1870s, with only 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, and 2007 sporting higher ERAs in the modern era). We've seen bullpens blow big leads over and over again this year. The Phillies bullpen, for example, has been horrific. A 7-run lead late may seem big for the Padres (whose bullpen isn't Philly level but not good), but it can be whittled down in a hurry. Tatis is also among the league leaders in home runs, and he has a chance at being the home run king. Surely he should swing if it's advantageous. Now, he did miss the take sign, but that's less of an unwritten rule issue and more of an internal team matter. Jayce Tingle should've defended his player in public but maybe given him some feedback on missing the sign in private. Hanging him out to dry like that is embarrassing.
Some feedback from younger fans on this (and younger players) also indicate a divergence in how baseball and other sports are going in terms of attracting audiences. There have been comparisons made to NBA, for example, where a big dunk (even up 15 early in the 4th for example) is celebrated. Young players and fans are excited. Commentators are excited too. Now, dunking big up 20 with a few seconds left is still a no-no (will incite a lot of criticism, particularly in college basketball), but when the result can still be in doubt, it's fun and goes viral. Fernando Tatis, one of the most exciting players in all of baseball, who's so young and whose name carries even more weight given his father's major league career, should be one of the faces of the game going forward. When he hit his first career grand slam to seal a win for his team, instead of excitement, it's people like Chris Woodward and Jayce Tingle whining about unwritten rules. It's seen as stifling fun. It's not little league. If the pitcher isn't prepared for a young MVP-caliber player to seal the game with the bases loaded, he shouldn't be pitching. And what if Tatis didn't swing, ended up striking out, the Padres don't add to their lead, and then the Rangers came back? It makes no sense. As Johnny Bench said, everyone should swing 3-0.
If a sign was missed, take it in house. Never leave your player out to dry like that.
There's validity in not wanting to run up the score/ease off in that situation, but given the nature of baseball today, few leads are safe. There have been offensive explosions in the past too (the 20s and 30s, 90s and 00s to name a couple of eras), but given how important it is for MLB to continue to attract audiences, unwritten rules that could tamp down excitement may not be well received by younger viewers.
For other unwritten rules, there's some validity, at least where they originate, but there still needs to be interpretation for each one. For example, not stealing a base up big is generally accepted, but how big of a lead should it apply to? That's up to interpretation I suppose. Bunting to break-up a no-hitter is also frowned upon, but if it's a big game and it's a 1-run game, why shouldn't a player, whose team has struggled to do anything offensively, not want to try to break up a pitcher's rhythm with a bunt single attempt? If it's 9-0 in the 9th, and the pitcher is about to finish the no-hitter, probably don't bunt. But if it's game 158 with the division title up for grabs with only a few games to go, and it's 1-0 in the 7th, why shouldn't the batter give his team the best chance to win? Unwritten rules can be fine, but they end up being interpreted differently by different people.
Even hitting batters in retaliation for breaking unwritten rules has famous detractors. Legendary manager Earl Weaver wrote in his book that he hated beanballs and discouraged them from being thrown (he was an early supporter of Moneyball type management that focused on maximizing OBP on offense, and limiting opposing baserunners with good defense; beaning people wasn't high on his agenda to say the least). But what if he saw one of his pitchers have a no-hitter broken up with a bunt? Maybe he would've allowed a high and tight fastball. Within reason I suppose.
If the Rangers hadn't reacted (didn't throw at Machado and didn't have Woodward complain about it), I don't know if anything would've come of it. I don't even know if the announcers or the sports-centric shows would've cared much. As such, it blew up. But there's a lot of show of support for Tatis, and both managers walked back their comments a bit, so it's certainly interesting. The Ringer article below (which you might've seen already) has some more context, essentially stating that the reaction from some of the players in the league to the situation indicates where the trend is going on unwritten rules. That being said, I think some of the other ones (like bunting to break up a no-hitter) may stick around a little longer, but certainly things are being challenged. And it's probably a good thing given some of these unwritten rules came about more than a century ago.
https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2020/8/19/21375862/fernando-tatis-grand-slam-padres-rangers-unwritten-rules