[MikefromOhio]

Sure it is, especially at the higher levels of the game. However, there is an etiquette to how and how not to do it.

Being walked or getting hits is one thing. Stealing bases when up a bunch or getting into rundowns so more runs can score it just running it up.

[Melas]

In my sport, karate, you don't go easier on an opponent because you're ahead on points or because your opponent looks hurt. Instead, you go harder because you can smell the blood in the water. I always knew I didn't like baseball, and now I know why.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

I coached a Pinto(8-9 yr. old) team in '96. One team got the cream of the crop among the 9 year olds and the rest of us had to make do with what was left. Needless to say, the all-star team went unbeaten, then, to add insult to injury, the coach plucked the few talented players from the rest of the teams to go to All-Stars.

On the bright side, I had the nicest, most understanding parents in the league. A couple of dads helped out enormously as assistant coaches, and the mom's were all gorgeous hotties, including one who I ran into a few months later and asked me on a date. ;^)

[tomkat]

(i actually agree w/ya about stealin' bases after the trounce is firmly in place ;-)