TUNNEY-SIDE-OF-THE-STREET

#128 June 11 2007
Welcome to this week's message from the Tunney-Side-Of-The-Street. You are encouraged to share this with fellow workers, family and friends.

After further review -

"The Great Potato Pickoff Play", is a story in, Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul that I coauthored. It told of a minor league catcher, who shaved a potato into the size of a baseball. Then during a league game tried to pick a runner off first base by throwing the "potato" over the head of his first baseman. Another runner on third, seeing the "ball" sail into right field, raced home. The catcher then produced the real ball and tagged the runner out at home plate. The umpire ruled, "run counts", although there was nothing in the rulebook to specifically cover this play.

The coach of the catcher's team felt it was a "bush league" play, fined the catcher, and then traded him. This play came to mind when I read about the "stunt" Alex Rodriguez, of the NY Yankees, pulled in a game with Toronto Blue Jays recently.

With A-Rod on second and the Yankees leading 7-5, Jorge Posada hit a 2-out pop fly that Blue Jays' 3rd baseman Howie Clark settled under to make the catch. Heading to third, behind where Clark was waiting to catch the ball, A-Rod yelled "mine" - a signal used by players when two or more are trying to make the catch. Clark, thinking it was his shortstop "calling him off", stepped away as the ball fell safely to the ground. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons argued with the umpires (to no avail), and then called the play "bush league". A-Rod claimed he said "Ha!" not "mine".

The replay however, showed A-Rod standing on third base, smirking during the ensuing argument. Rule 7.08(b) says "a base runner is out if he hinders a fielder attempting to make a play", but the rule is interpreted to equate interference with contact. No mention of talking or shouting at opponents.

Baseball is full of "mind games", - opponents talking to each other like "hey, batter, batter" or trying to steal the opponent's signs or applying a tag without the ball. These mind games are an attempt to break an opponent's concentration or to deceive. However, sports have "unwritten" rules, an imaginary line called "sportsmanship".

Although no imaginary line is covered in the rulebook, "good" athletes know "the right thing to do". One of these is my Grandson, Jake, whose team just won their high school Junior Varsity City Championship. When I asked him about this play, he said, "I have not seen that play happen, but I do not condone it".

Will you keep sportsmanship and the spirit of fair play in mind in everything you do?

Look for my book
It's the Will, Not the Skill
Principles and philosophies of success
For more information about Jim Tunney, go to www.jimtunney.com
Visit my blog for the entire collection of my Tunney Sides:
http://tunney-side-of-the-street.blogspot.com

ARTICLE TAGLINE FOR JIM TUNNEY, Ed.D., CSP, CPAE

Copyright © 2003 Jim Tunney. All rights reserved.
You can visit Jim's website at http://www.jimtunney.com

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