Hey Batter Batter!

Written by Malcolm Fleschner

In the world of sports, is there anything dumber than the rule that a hitter who strikes out can still run for first base if the catcher drops the third strike? If the guy struck out, what difference does it make whether the catcher catches the ball? In basketball, you don't get two points for throwing up an airball if none of your opponents happens to catch the ball in the air before it bounces.

Nevertheless, despite the stupidity of the rule, players should still respect it. Yet you'll frequently see hitters strike out, the ball go into the dirt, and the batter will just sullenly walk back to the dugout while the catcher feverishly picks up the ball and races after him to apply the tag. Can you imagine something similar in another sport? Like in football, if a running back is racing down the field, but the ball slips out of his hand and then takes a lucky bounce right back up to him, would he just stop and let himself be tackled, figuring that after fumbling, he shouldn't be allowed to take advantange of a lucky bounce? Of course not, for self-preservation if nothing else. Because if any player did that, his teammates would probably all jump him and beat the crap out of him.

But not in baseball. These hitters just ignore the fact that they can run to first after a dropped third strike. Shouldn't the manager or their teammates be getting on their case? "Hey, let's see some hustle, we're trying to win the pennant here." If you just struck out, but you can still get on base, shouldn't you at least try?

So baseball players - I know you're pissed that you whiffed, but leg it out anyway. You focus on doing what you do best, which is try to win ball games in any way possible, and I'll take care of what I do best - complaining about things I think are stupid.