Chattanooga Lookouts' Kohl Stewart poses during the Lookouts picture day Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at AT&T Field.
Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Kohl Stewart believes baseball's unwritten rules are a way "the game monitors itself."They live with them, but they don't always love them.
Coaches and players of the Chattanooga Lookouts are well aware of baseball's "unwritten rules" by the time they reach the Class AA level. Those rules have come to the forefront in recent weeks with the feuding Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, who may extend their antics when they meet again in June.
Baltimore's Manny Machado slid into Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia on April 21, and Machado has been thrown at by Red Sox pitchers five times since, including once in the head.
"Sometimes guys get a little too wound up and get a little too macho," Lookouts first-year manager Jake Mauer said. "It's a little bit easier for pitchers when they can hide behind the DH compared to National Leaguers who have to get into that batter's box. There are some times when things are warranted, but it didn't look like Machado was trying to slide and hurt Pedroia.
"For whatever reason, they decided to do whatever they wanted to do, and you wind up in these situations of losing the focus of actually trying to win the game. What a lot of these young guys don't get now is that when something happens and it's over, it's over. Things tend to linger a little longer now, and I really don't understand why."
Machado came up high on his slide, which resulted in his cleat sinking into Pedroia's calf, but Machado instantly showed remorse by trying to help Pedroia from falling. The injury resulted in Pedroia missing three games.
The collision occurred on a Friday night in Baltimore, but payback was reserved for two days later in the April 23 series finale. Boston starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez threw low and inside three times in the same at-bat to Machado, who got out of the way each time.
In the eighth inning and with his Red Sox leading 6-0, reliever Matt Barnes threw up and inside to Machado and struck him in the helmet.
"Watching Barnes throw that ball in there, I don't think he was trying to hit him in the head," Lookouts starting pitcher Kohl Stewart said. "He's just not used to throwing a ball that far in, and it probably took off on him. It ended up looking a whole lot worse. The Orioles were right to react the way they did, but if that pitch had been lower and to the ribs or the thigh, Machado probably goes to first no sweat.
"When it went to his head, all bets were off."
Barnes immediately was ejected from that game, but the chaos continued this past week when the two teams met again in Boston. In Tuesday's game, Red Sox starter Chris Sale threw behind Machado, and Machado had an expletive-laced tirade later that night complaining that pitchers have a weapon in their hands but wouldn't face near the penalties a position player would if he ever charged the mound with his bat.
Chattanooga Lookouts' Levi Michael poses during the Lookouts picture day Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at AT&T Field.Sale's fastball has been clocked before at 100.3 mph.
"I don't agree with the pitchers having the right to intentionally throw at batters," Lookouts center fielder Levi Michael said. "It can be dangerous, especially with the velocities that are now in the game. There should be more monitoring of that, but you can always plead the case that it slipped. Still, they need to do a better job of protecting the hitters for sure."
Machado got the last laugh this past week, homering in Baltimore's 8-3 triumph Thursday night and taking a healthy 29.77 seconds to round the bases.
One of the more interesting aspects to this feud took place April 23, when a sidelined Pedroia went to the top of the visiting dugout steps and shouted to Machado that he didn't have anything to do with the Red Sox pitchers throwing at him. Stewart said that is all part of the unwritten rules.
"When something happens to Pedroia or when something happens to one of my teammates," Stewart said, "the player doesn't come back to the dugout and say, 'You better take care of me.' It's already known that it's my job to get my guy's back. Once you're in the game long enough, you kind of just know.
"It's my duty to have my guy's back, and I think the other team understands what's going on. If they want to continue to press our buttons, then that's when we're going to have problems. It's just the way the game monitors itself."
This past week's Baltimore-Boston series dominated sports headlines during the middle of the NBA and NHL playoffs, but Mauer doesn't think intentionally throwing at batters does any good for the game. He likes that the penalties have become stiffer for such incidents but adds there is always the difficulty of judging intent.
Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman discovered that Wednesday night when he lost control of a curveball traveling just 76.6 mph and was tossed for hitting a Boston player.
"What this does is eliminate the whole inside of the plate, because there is always the threat of getting run (out of the game)," Mauer said. "Unfortunately, guys get hit when there isn't any intent. Hitters are a lot more comfortable when there are warnings, because they know if pitchers try and come in, they can get thrown out.
"It can affect how the game is played, and when it affects how a game is played, then I don't agree with it."
Which is why Mauer has learned through the years to take a simpler approach when tempers begin to flare.
"I would never tell one of my guys to throw at anybody," Mauer said. "For me, it puts the pitcher in a tough spot. Some players are going to react with a lot of emotion, and some players aren't, and if you feel disrespected, go out and beat somebody. That's the attitude I've always had. You don't need to throw at anybody to show how tough you are or how to respect the game.
"If you're unhappy with the other team and what they're doing, then go out and beat them."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.