(suffice to say I have forever blown any chance of getting this book signed)
David Ortiz’ bat flip after clobbering a HR off Yankees rookie Hector Noesi was a big enough deal around the sporting sphere that it actually inspired (indirectly, anyway) a rather unfortunate Twitter-spat between this writer and Independent Spirit Award-winner Amy Fisher. Though I doubt that’s the kind of exchange the Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck had in mind, he still insists that without such acts of showmanship (and subsequent manufactured outrage), “baseball can feel more like C-SPAN, stuffy and boring.”
It would be different if Jed Lowrie did it. Yes, there are different rules for different players. You don’t need 25 “look at me” types, either. But a little spice never hurt anyone.
Papi actually showed restraint. Had he followed the Domingo Ayala guide to hitting home runs, he would have popped his chain after 10 steps to let “the scouts and, especially the pitcher, know he had hit one out.”
Once Papi tossed the bat, there was going to be consequences. The Yankees have been rolled by the Red Sox at The Stadium this year. That’s one thing. It’s another to let them rub their nose in it.
When problems arise in baseball, teams police themselves, lay down the law, sort things out. Papi hit one out. Then he got hit.
Nobody was hurt. And more people paid attention. In a sport that can capitalize on the football and basketball labor wars, trust me when I tell you that’s not a bad thing.