bean balls

[cjclong]

Baseball needs to take pitchers throwing at hitters seriously. The Giant relief pitcher intentionally hit Harper because he was angry with how Harper acted after his two homeruns off him in 20014. Baseball seems to be the only sport that if you feel you are dissed by another player you can hit him. In football we don't allow at defensive back to hit a receiver with his helmet if he thinks the receiver disrespected him after catching a touchdown pass. This "tradition" of a pitcher hitting a batter who has "shown him up" is ridiculous and can lead to injury and brawls. Be a man and get him out next time. (And yes, I know the pitch that hit Harper wasn't a bean ball technically)

[Mark17]

Baseball needs to take pitchers throwing at hitters seriously. The Giant relief pitcher intentionally hit Harper because he was angry with how Harper acted after his two homeruns off him in 20014. Baseball seems to be the only sport that if you feel you are dissed by another player you can hit him. In football we don't allow at defensive back to hit a receiver with his helmet if he thinks the receiver disrespected him after catching a touchdown pass. This "tradition" of a pitcher hitting a batter who has "shown him up" is ridiculous and can lead to injury and brawls. Be a man and get him out next time. (And yes, I know the pitch that hit Harper wasn't a bean ball technically)

Agree. When I played I sometimes threw a pitch inside, aiming at a spot maybe 4 inches away from a hitter's chin. But to actually throw at a hitter, especially where it could really hurt him (which means anywhere besides his buttocks) is dirty and dangerous.

[metsbats]

They eliminated the take out slide so it makes no sense for them to not do anything about the intentional bean ball.

They should get creative like the no pitch intentional walk and if the batter is intentional beaned it becomes an automatic homer. That will certainly deter any pitcher.

[cjclong]

That might be a good suggestion. One additional. Right now if a pitch is coming at a batter and he tried to get out of the way if the ball hits his bat in the process even though he isn't swinging and is ducking if the ball ticks off his bat its a strike and if it lands in fair territory he can be thrown out even if he is lying on the ground. A pitch that the batter is trying to evade to keep from hitting him ought to at least be a ball and not a strike or an out.

[coxfan]

Not just baseball execs need to take this problem seriously. Fans are the ultimate bosses. If they don't indicate their displeasure at beanballs, MLB and the Players' Association won't listen.

I can think of one old beanball specialist who's getting HOF consideration from many, despite this and other problems by this player. As long as that's the case, baseball will not act. The Players' Association should be the ones to take this seriously.

[coxfan]

I read of a 19th-century beanball incident with an unusual twist. Two players were sought by the same MLB team in the 1880's. They both were dating the same woman in the city where they were, so player A agreed to sign with the new team if his rival would also sign. That way both would relocate, so neither would have an advantage in that dating game.

But player B reneged on the relocation, and thus had the lady to himself. So player A threw a sincerely-aimed beanball at the other when they met in a winter game. He missed, but the disgusted MLB owner wound up with neither player.