SI.com reported on a story this week that just seemed mind-boggling to me.
According to SI.com, it seems that after Yankees all-world third-baseman Alex Rodriguez singled in the top of the sixth, Robinson Cano fouled one off and A-Rod, who stopped between second and third, decided to cut right across the pitcher’s mound in order to return to first.
Cano then grounded into an inning-ending double play and pitcher Dallas Braden and A-Rod got into it.
“The long and short of it is it’s pretty much baseball etiquette. He should probably take a note from his captain (Derek Jeter) over there,” Braden told SI.com. “Because you don’t run across the pitcher’s mound in between an inning or during the game. I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind. I was just trying to convey to him that I was still out there, that ball’s in my hand and that’s my pitcher’s mound. If he wants to run across the pitcher’s mound. Tell him to go do laps in the bullpen.”
Braden at Rodriguez and, of course, Rodriguez yelled back. Exvidently, the two kept screaming at each other until A’s manager Bob Geren came out and escorted Braden off the field.
“He just told me to get off his mound,” Rodriguez told SI.com. “I was a little surprised. I’ve never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career. I’ve never even heard of that in my career and I still don’t know. I thought it was pretty funny, actually.”
Braden, who is 26 and has a lifetime record of 17-21, admitted that he probably won’t cause A-Rod to change his ways.
“I’m not really a speck on that guy’s radar but he’ll know after today that it might not be a good idea to run across the mound when I’m out there,” Braden said. “It’s not like I throw 95 (mph) and I’m going to hurt him. He’ll know I was there, though.”
Good for the kid.
The weird part is this: In 30 years of playing ball from atom to oldtimers, I don’t think it ever dawned on me to run across a mound while either returning to first or just leaving the field. It’s too much effort, especially on some of the shitty fields I’ve played on, to climb up the bump and down again and avoid the rubber without tripping on your face. You’re just cutting back across the infield. It’s not that far. Why would you run across the mound and put yourself in a position in which you could end up doing a swan dive across the dirt? What’s the point other than to, maybe, get into the pitcher’s head?
And maybe that’s it. Maybe A-Rod is just a dirt-bag.
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