NEW YORK (AP) – Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says this generation of players will make its own unwritten rules on what emotion is acceptable to show on the field.
Hall of Famer Goose Gossage, a New York Yankees spring training instructor, criticized Toronto star Jose Bautista last month for his bat flip during last year’s playoffs, telling ESPN he was “a disgrace to the game.” The 64-year-old, who pitched in the major leagues from 1972-94, also told ESPN that Washington’s Bruce Harper “doesn’t know squat about the game … no respect for it.”
“I think to the extent that you believe, and I actually do, that Bryce Harper is a spokesman for this generation, I suspect that you will see more exuberance from our players on the field,” Manfred said Thursday during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors.
“I think it’s a good thing. I think that to the extent that you’re trying to market to a younger audience, our younger players taking control of the definition of those unwritten rules is a lot better than some guy who’s 67 years saying I did it that way and you ought do it the same way.”
Bautista memorably flipped his bat after hitting a three-run homer that gave the Blue Jays the lead in the seventh inning in Game 5 of the AL Division Series against Texas.