Baseball's a Funny Game
The young Braden tossed the 19th perfect game in Major League history
The irony of Oakland A's starter Dallas Braden's perfect game was almost palpable on Sunday. On a day when children celebrate and spend time with their mothers, Braden had none to do either. His mother passed away from cancer when he was a senior high school.
On a day that undoubtedly carried much pain for Braden, he got the ball. On a day that reminded him of such a huge missing piece in his life, Braden was perfect and lacking nothing.
Braden was in the baseball headlines weeks before his historic performance. A few weeks ago, he got into a verbal spar with the insufferable Alex Rodriguez over a violation of one of baseball's unwritten, unspoken rules. After making an out on April 22, A-Rod made his way across the field back to the Yankee dugout. On the way, however, he journeyed over the pitcher's mound, which is cause to fight for pitchers. Braden, who was pitching that game, did not take kindly to A-Rod, who later said "I was tired. It's really not that big of a deal. I've done that maybe a few dozen times. It's the shortest route." Implicit in Braden's anger is the recognition that the mound belongs to the pitcher. No other player comes near the mound while the game is in session.
This is rule is part of the baseball code, which is what makes the sport unique. No other sport has rules so arbitrary, so stringently followed, and so unspoken. If you're not a pitcher, don't walk over the mound. Never step on the chalk lines. Don't steal signs. Don't walk in front of the catcher and ump when approaching the plate. These are just a few of the guidelines that all players instinctively know and abide by. Baseball, a game rife with superstition, mixes unofficial rules with wide held superstition to produce some truly bizarre norms. Baseball players are just a different breed, and this is one of the reasons why. In what other sport will you find anything of this nature?
Braden has been the victim of two code violations recently. The A-Rod incident was the first, and Evan Longoria's plate appearance in the 5th inning of Sunday's game was the second. With Braden halfway into a perfect game, Longoria tried to lay down a bunt for a hit with his team trailing. Longoria is the #3 hitter in the AL's best offense, and one of the top 10 power hitters in the game. There is controversy over a move like this during a perfect game, especially from a major power hitter.
There is some argumentative clash on this play: do you do everything you can to break up a perfect game, or do you show the pitcher some courtesy by playing for the win, not simply to break up his gem? This isn't so much a baseball taboo as it is a norm, which is to say that there is some gray area involved and that the context dictates whether it is right or wrong. If you're Braden, you definitely don't appreciate having to focus up to face one of baseball's best hitters to preserve your perfect game, only to have him drop down a bunt just to foil your day. Various baseball people will fall on different sides of this issue, but there is no absolute right or wrong here.
I'll tell you two things: first, Dallas Braden may not have made a scene about Longoria's bunt try, but he will not forget it. Second, baseball will always have the best sporting atmosphere and culture, thanks in no small part to "the Code."
