The Goose Flaps His Wings
Posted on May 14th, 2008 in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Hall of Fame relief pitcher Goose Gossage says that there’s no place in the game for future Hall of Fame relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain’s fist-pumping excitement after a key out.
Chamberlain responds that he is what he is.
“People are going to say stuff about it for a long time,” Chamberlain said. “The fact of the matter is I got to where I am by being who I am. I’m not going to change.”
In fact, it’s quite an interesting debate, if you’re a baseball fan. Why don’t baseball players celebrate like football players after a big play? Does it help the other team if they do? Is it part of the virtue of baseball that, almost universally, they don’t—or just part of a tradition that it’s time to change?
3 Responses
5/14/2008 9:15 am
Virtue, leave it along. Joba-don’t be a dick. That’s for Red Sox players.
5/14/2008 1:14 pm
I’m a big fan of the traditions of the game (and a Yankee and Joba hater) but for some reason this doesn’t bother me too much. I think its because if you look at what he does he doesn’t really stick it in the face of the batter he’s just struck out. He pumps his fist, shouts out a ‘hell yeah” and gets on with the game. It’s sort of internalized, an understandable reaction to the stress of the situation. Spiking the football and doing a dance before fans is much more show-offy, and objectionable, in my opinion.
Of course, its no surprise you’re only seeing this in the American league, because it would probably earn a brush back against the pitcher in the National league when he’s batting.
5/14/2008 4:36 pm
The ostentatious celebrating is childish, whatever the sport. It goes with the glamorized selfishness of the times. But baseball players can show emotion without it being always “Ain’t I great?” One of the nice things about baseball is that with neither equipment nor constant running, players can become characters whose mannerisms and game faces can be seen from the stands. Remember Al Hrabosky? He was fun. Nothing wrong with that, silly though it was. I even liked Sammy Sosa’s little hop out of the batting box, pushing the ball toward the fences about the time it was reaching the outfield. Baseball players just have a lot more ways to show their personality than football players do.