During last night’s episode of the “Dan Johnson Show,” many of us witnessed an Oscar-caliber performance from Derek Jeter. During the top of the seventh, Jeter stepped up to the plate with one out. Chad Qualls threw a sinkerball inside on Jeter and at first glimpse, it appeared as though he had hit the Captain clear on the wrist. Jeter grimaced and lurched around in pain. Gene Monahan briskly made his way to the field with an expression of angst. Lovely. The Yankees’ laboring leadoff hitter would be joining the team’s ailing ranks.
By the time Jeter had lumbered down to first base, Joe Maddon rushed out on the field. His face was completely red, and he was screaming at the umpires for making such a bogus call. After he voiced his concerns for a few moments, the umpires gave him the toss. Meanwhile, YES decided to utilize the magical “instant replay technology” and everyone watching could clearly see that the ball hit the knob of Jeter’s bat. In actuality, the pitch never even grazed Jeter. Instead of obtaining an unfortunate strike while attempting to dodge out of the way of a pitch, Jeter managed to achieve what the team desperately needed — a means to get on base while avoiding another out. Jeter embraced a very Machiavellian approach.
When asked after the game where he had been hit, Derek Jeter promptly replied, “It hit the bat. …He told me to go to first. I’m not going to tell him, ‘I’m not going to go to first,’ you know? My job is to get on base.” Jeter continued, “It’s part of the game. …I’ve been hit before and they said I wasn’t hit. My job is to get on base, and fortunately for us it paid off at the time. I’m sure it would have been a bigger story if we would have won that game.”
I understand his motivation, and I understand that nearly all players at that level would do the same. The objective is to win. Honestly, this type of action is no different from Alex Rodriguez’s infamous “HAH!” incident or “Slap” incident. It’s no different from soccer players or basketball players “flopping” to achieve the turnover. It’s no different from football punters lunging to the ground if the opponent is even remotely close in order to achieve the illegal contact penalty for the automatic first down. I suppose acting is part of any game.
However, these actions don’t reflect good taste. Bending the rules might be beneficial during that moment, but it doesn’t exactly uphold any ideal of integrity. Jeter is absolutely correct in his assumption that had the Yankees won, there would have been much more commotion. The Rays would have lost the game feeling they had been robbed. It’d be similar to a boxer throwing a cheap shot to win the bout, and getting away with it. He might have won, but it wouldn’t be entirely legitimate. Frankly, I’m not that impressed with this type of behavior. I also wonder whether Jeter will get the call the next time a similar situation occurs.
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0 Responses to Jeter deserves Oscar, not admiration
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TIQ IQ
Matt,
I'm inclined to disagree with you somewhat here — think about how many bad calls go against the Yankees. When an incorrect call is made in their favor, we don't complain. Was Jeter supposed to inform the umpire that no, he did not in fact get hit by the pitch? As he said in several interviews, there have been times when he was indeed hit by a pitch but was not rewarded first base. These things, as we know, tend to even out over the course of the season.
I for one have no problem with the umpires awarding Jeter the base and Jeet not saying anything — if Jeter was called safe on the bases but was clearly out, do you think Derek would go to the ump and say "No no, I was out — you botched the call"? It'd never happen, and that's why Jeter didn't say anything last night either. In a game where it seems like the outcomes are exceedingly influenced by poor umpiring, you need to take a bad call when you get it.
That all being said, the one aspect of the play that does concern me is your take on it in the last sentence of your post — the fact that Jeter was so open about the ball not hitting him after the game could make future umpires less likely to give Jeter a base on a close HBP call.
Regardless, I ultimately have no problem with the offense getting on base any which way they can.
Good post, Larry.
I know I'm probably in the minority here regarding this point.
Personally, I have played competitive soccer clear through college. It always frustrated me to no end when players manipulated the rules by falling over to get a quick call. For lack of better words, it felt “cheap.”
I didn't expect Jeter to tell the ump he wasn't interested in going to first base because the ball didn't actually hit him. What I do expect was for Jeter to not go out of his way to pretend that he was hit initially. The umps are perfectly capable of calling the play incorrectly on their own. They don’t need a free night at the theatre on top of it.
I also have a hard time associating prior bad calls (for or against) the Yankees when considering the current circumstance. That line of thinking essentially comes down to "two wrongs make a right." Missed calls don't really balance out in my eyes…they just accumulate.
Meh, to each his own.
Interesting take, but I would point out that yelling “Ha” (i.e., distracting fielders) and flopping in soccer are against the rules in each sport. Pretending to be HBP is not. It’s really no different from baseball’s other charades ((catchers framing pitches, middle infielders dekeing base runners, outfielders selling a trap, etc.).
Also agree with Larry though. I do wonder if Jeter will get less benefit of the doubt now (assuming umps do that sort of thing). More interesting than the act itself, is why Jeter decided to be so open about it. Perhaps his usual “no comment” would have been more appropriate in this situation?
Flopping is why I hate soccer. There's a distinct difference between "accepting" a bad call without saying anything, and ACTING like you got hit when you didn't. If Jeter had just stood there after the pitch and the ump made the call, then fine, no hard feelings. But if he actually lurched around like the ball hit his hand, then that's blatant poor sportsmanship, no two ways about it.
But the fact of the matter is that his antics should not have influenced the ump one way or another. If the ump saw the ball hit Jeter, he should've awarded the base; if he didn't see the contact, he shouldn't have. If the ump didn't see the contact but awarded the base because he saw Jeter acting like he'd been hit, then he is a bad ump and he blew the call in more ways than one. Frankly, even as a Mets fan, I expect better than this from Jeter. No one expects you to argue that you were out when you're called safe on a close play, but at the same time, don't try to influence the ump's call by LYING. I don't care if it's against the rules or not, there are lots of ways to be a bad sport without breaking the rules.
–T
"I also wonder whether Jeter will get the call the next time a similar situation occurs."
I would think that in the heat of the moment, the umpire wouldn't have time to consider that. I wrote on my post today that I don't understand why the umpire didn't hear the ball hit the bat, it was so loud and obvious. I assumed that when Madden came out, he told him that Jeter tried to get out of the way and couldn't, so he didn't care if it hit his bat. the umpire's probably not deaf, right? the sound was clear as day in the live action speed instant replay.
I think we all played some sort of organized baseball at some point in our lives and had the sensation of the ball hitting the bat within a few inches of your hands – this hurts; its a very odd sensation. that might have been what Jeter was reacting to, then saw he got the call and didn't argue. if you think he should have been honest at that point… I guess I don't agree. Besides, what does telling an umpire they're wrong ever get you?
It's the acting that separates this blown call from another one. Jeter clearly tried to trick the umpire rather than take whatever call the ump made. I'm shocked that he was so open about it. He's going to get a cheap called third strike somewhere, sometime.
so every time a catcher frames a pitch, is he cheating to trick the umpire? if yes, then there is a ton of cheating going on in MLB. if no, then we've got a serious contradiction.