Posted on 09/15/2011 1:57:42 PM PDT by La Enchiladita
The first perfect game in American League history was thrown by a pitcher who ended it with a taunt, defending his teammates against an insult, screaming at the final batter, "How do you like that, you hayseed?"
The year was 1904, and the pitcher was Cy Young.
On Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, imitating that long-ago barb with an inside fastball, a battling Clayton Kershaw proved worthy of winning the award that carries Cy Young’s name.
Although Kershaw will never admit it, his pitch that plunked the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Gerardo Parra in the elbow in the sixth inning of the Dodgers’ eventual 3-2 victory appeared to be a retaliation for Parra’s crotch-grabbing, home-run posing insult of the Dodgers on Tuesday night.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
No warnings were given. I am still furious, even though the Dodgers won. Kershaw got win #19, protected his team, and I like the point that Plaschke makes. As Rick Monday said during the brouhaha, "the game has been taken away from the players," meaning the umpire overstepped his job description.
Moral of the story: Don't mess with Texas.
Well, Kershaw is the rock on which my fantasy team is built (so I am not unbiased in any way). But I too think the ump was out-of-line here...a warning was warranted but Kershaw kept the ball low, he wasn’t headhunting, and it wasn’t even blatantly certain that he was throwing at him (the ball was not that far inside). It was a purpose pitch...a warning to the batter but it was not a dangerous pitch. Kershaw and both benches should have been warned right there and then that any more pitches like that would result in ejection...but he should never have been ejected on the spot like that. That is nanny-state umpiring. Think of what Bob Gibson did - much more than that - without getting tossed.
The umpires should call one game at a time, not “remember” stuff from one game to the next. The team and the fans reserve the right to remember, in my opinion. What is next? Will the ump warn re facial expressions or whatever? They didn’t mind Parra grabbing his crotch the night before or hot-dogging the homer.
The umps need lessons in professionalism.
You’re right that the MLB nanny mentality is getting out of hand. Let’s get a new commish while we’re at it.
Lots of personalities in baseball. Verlander is super calm on the mound but closer Jose Valverde dances his way off the field.
Verlander entered Sandy Koufax territory the other night with win number 23 and a no hitter in the same season.
I don’t think Kershaw will win Cy Young. He is deserving, but three words: east coast bias.
I don’t even know how the award is decided. Duh.
Not an NL follower but it sure looks like Kershaw deserves the Award in his league.
Have you ever been hit by a 95 MPH fastball?
Have you stopped beating your wife?
I never encouraged others to beat their wives, which is pretty much what you creeps are doing when you say a batter deserves to be hit by a pitcher. I thought it would be a good idea to see if you had a voice of experience, or just being an effing wise guy.
Thanks for the answer.
... and the horse you rode in on.
^5! That was 1) good and 2) QUICK!
Just checked the Wikipedia article on Clayton Kershaw. It says that he was born in Dallas, TX, and that he is a great-nephew of the late Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto.
When can not begin to imagine how these current day umps would have handled the Juan Marichal/John Roseboro incident.
Guess between ALL the umps/team officials/etc everyone in that game would have been arrested - except Willy Mays and maybe Sandy Koufax <: <: <:
Kershaw can hit 98 ;-)
I have been hit by a pretty good fastball, I don’t know if it was 95...or even 90...as they didn’t have radar guns everywhere when I played in college (the 70’s). I’ve been hit on the side of the arm near the elbow (by a Stanford pitcher whose name is lost to memory now) hurts like hell for about 5 minutes. But those didn’t bother me so much, it was the pitches up and way in that made the bowels burp a bit.
Still, I would strongly maintain that tossing a pitcher for a lower inside pitch on the first instance is just not correct umpiring. Kershaw and both benches should have gotten a warning right there...and the next one would have resulted in the toss. I think that’s what Kershaw and Mattingly were expecting. There are certain unwritten rules that all know and the purpose pitch is just a part of the game, always has been, and the players know those rules and will play it accordingly. Kershaw’s ejection there was bad umpiring.
The reason you didn’t see a “warning” was because, at the game the night before, Kershaw stood on the bench in the dugout and yelled to Parra in the other dugout that he was going to “get” Parra the next night. Kershaw and others were almost ejected right there, the night before this drilling incident. Had Kershaw not made the very public threat to bean-ball Parra, there would have been a warning.
In effect, Kershaw warned himself, and I understand the Umpires told Kershaw before the game there would be no further warning: Bean-ball Parra ONCE and you are out. Kershaw waited, as you can see, until he had enough innings to get the win.
He knew he was going to be tossed, but did it anyway. Just like Clemmons used to do. I guess some folks think it is the norm to always get a formal warning, but when a player openly threatens another, it’s irrational to expect a formal warning before getting tossed.
It’s like speeding and always expecting a warning from the traffic Cop instead of a ticket. You have no right to expect that either.
I have to disagree...that was no beanball. Not even close. I haven’t heard what you did about a warning before the game, if so I still this was a over-reaction...it was no beanball. I have seen beanballs, I have seen balls thrown behind my back. This was not that. What you are saying is that Kershaw was told that he could not pitch inside to a certain batter...no, I don’t buy that. Not at all.
No major league umpire would take away the inside pitch from a pitcher beforehand, no matter what. If the umpire did that, it was even more overbearing, and should not be tolerated by the league.
You are putting words in my mouth (are you a liberal?). No, he was told if hit the batter he threatened with payback, that would not be seen as "an inside pitch," it would be seen as deliberate. There is no room in baseball for that kind of unsportsmanlike behavior.
Get off the "inside pitch" BS. There is a difference between a close pitch and a hit by pitcher, and Kershaw (having probably the best control in the business) knew it. It was on purpose.
If you want to go around declaring assault "part of the sport" you go on ahead. I believe differently and am finished discussing it with you.
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