Well, the baseball season was less than a week old before we got our first violation of the unwritten rules of baseball.  Down 7-0 and with one out in the ninth, Baltimore Orioles catcher Chance Sisco had the audacity to bunt against the shift to get on base.  Trying to win a game where they were getting blown out was taken as an affront by Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, who said, “When they didn’t hold our runner on [earlier in the blowout], they conceded to the fact they didn’t want us to steal, so we didn’t steal.  We could have very easily stolen and put up more runs, so therefore in return, you don’t bunt. That’s what everybody is missing in this whole thing.”  (ESPN)

Apparently, everyone is missing what he was saying because Dozier has been roundly mocked, but his rant does bring up another round of discussion on the unwritten rules of baseball.  Seemingly, there is a chasm among fans whether these rules should be followed.  No matter what side of the fence you are on, you are bound to have an unwritten rule or two you particularly don’t like.

So in the spirit of Dozier inventing unwritten rules, the Mets Blogger Roundtable now tackles the subject of which unwritten rules we want to see abolished:

Michael Baron (MLB)

Celebrations have become part of the fabric of the game, like it or not. And as long as the sport continues to celebrate these celebrations, be it during their broadcasts or in social media, we have to except that as an adaptation to the game. Personally, there are far bigger issues with the game than what people consider over-the-top celebrations.

Roger Cormier (Good Fundies & Fangraphs)

Shawn Estes missed Roger Clemens. Estes later homered off of him and nobody seemed to care. Noah Syndergaard got ejected and he didn’t even hit Chase Utley. The unwritten rule that you have to hit a dude because that dude’s teammate plunked a teammate of yours, intentionally or not, is pretty dumb, and the Mets can’t seem to get it right. Also, some of us are not neanderthals. If you want revenge, you do it right. Ruin Chase Utley’s credit. Convince him to try a fake diet that actually makes you fat. Post his postseason stats from the last few seasons on the scoreboard while he’s batting. Recite them over the PA during his batting practice. Spoil his favorite TV shows while you’re at it. Steal his XBox. Sign him up for all of the spam mail. Donate $50,000 to NAMBLA on his behalf and let Reddit do it’s thing. Hitting him once? With a baseball? That’s just lazy.

Mark Healey (Gotham Baseball)

I want more unwritten rules, except what Dozier said; that’s a millennial unwritten rule.

The bat flipping and mic drop antics deserve an up and in dusting.

Joe Maracic (Loud Egg)

The entire keep the celebrations to a minimum after hitting a homer is ridiculous. Let them have some fun and instead of focusing on hitting them at their next at bat, why not just try hitting more homers in return. I think it’s slowly changing to be accepted more, at least among Hispanic players.

Michael Mayer (MMO & MMN)

Celebrating may have changed forms, but let’s not act like this is something that didn’t happen in the past.  I wonder how many time Rickey Henderson got dusted.

It’s ridiculous to head hunt over a celebration.

Greg Prince (Faith and Fear in Flushing)

The one unwritten rule I find particularly dopey is the one that says swinging on three-and-oh is some sort of affront to the pitcher.

The one unwritten rule that I wish to see enforced is pitchers ought to tip their caps to the fans if they are receiving applause upon leaving the mound. Perhaps it’s been forgotten, perhaps these guys are super-focused, but c’mon. It’s just good manners.

Mets Daddy

The one unwritten rule I never quite understood was you’re not allowed to bunt when the opposing pitcher has a no-hitter going.  Throwing a no-hitter is supposed to be extremely rare and difficult.  Heck, it took the Mets 50 years to get one.  Before Johan Santana‘s, I’ve seen the Mets lose no-hitters in the most excruciating ways possible.

One that immediately comes to mind is how David Cone once lost a no-hitter to what amounted to a swinging bunt.  Sure, the batter attempted to swing rather than bunt.  However, was that oopsie base hit more virtuous than a batter coming to the plate with an idea of what he wanted to do and executing.

As John Sterling would say between self aggrandizing and incoherent in multiple languages home run calls, “That’s baseball, Suzyn.”

In some sense, it is strange a group of people who spend their document writing everything about the Mets down and publishing it on various mediums offer an opinion on unwritten rules.  What isn’t strange is the thoughtful and honest answers they provided to this question.  Hopefully, it will encourage you to click their links and read their work.