Not really, baseball needs to learn to roll with the times. Theres a reason they are struggling to get new, younger fans.

All of the stupid unwritten rule bullshit is why. Younger fans especially want dudes with personality.
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Yes, because there's nothing younger fans hate more than a little in-game fighting....

Did you hear Dozier talking after the game? He said it was fun. Fans love fighting, and players like mixing it up as well.
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Well yea people like that part.

I still think it's dumb people get butthurt about celebrations. Fuck there are pitchers that celebrate should hitters throw bats at them?
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In my youth, I was a pitcher armed (haha) with a pretty big fastball. I definitely dusted guys inside around the belt a few times if I felt like they were too comfortable or had tried to show me up. It’s part of baseball.

I didn’t think Keller handled yesterday poorly. He kept the ball low and drilled Anderson in the butt. It’s not like he came up and in on him.

Keller is a pretty emotionless pitcher. Chris Archer drilling a guy for showing him up is silly and hypocritical. He reacts to big Ks all the time. Keller doesn’t do that stuff.

I didn’t think either player should have been ejected.
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Archer is a pretty classic example of a pitcher that celebrates all the time.
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Anderson knew it was coming and didn't charge the mound or anything. A 92 MPH fastball still hurts like a MFer so he can say some shit along the way but he was still taking his base like a man.

The bigger problem was the benches clearing which stirred everyone else up and I think Keller and Anderson got tossed because they were at the start of it, even though they didn't do anything wrong.

If MLB instituted a rule like in the NBA where the 2nd man in or anyone leaving the bench gets suspended and fined, that would take care of something like this.

That being said the video of the incident was top video on MLB.com so it's not like they or the players really care if intentionally hitting someone or fighting offends anyone.
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Bat flips = FUN
Drilling people due to bat flips = MLB HATES FUN
Benches Clearing = FUN
???
Profit

Whatevs. That was a fun shake-up to a losing season.
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IMO it says a lot about Anderson and the Pale Hoes. It’s one thing to act like that in a big game but he’s a scrub playing in a meaningless regular season game in April.
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remember when grienke was averaging 92 all game then he decided to plunk someone and dialed it up to 99?
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I remember that one dust up when Runelvys Hernandez came racing in from the bullpen but both teams had already been separated and were back in their dugouts before he reached the infield.
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Didn’t he throw slow on purpose one year to prove a point that pitching was more about movement and location than velocity?
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The difference with this situation is Anderson was barking at Maldonado after the bat flip, on his way to first.

You can celebrate, flip the bat, etc........but once you make it personal, it gets a personal retaliation.

While the NBA has Ts, and the NFL has taunting........I like how the players self-police those actions in the MLB.
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Bench clearing brawls should be part of the "Let them play" push.

Let them PLAY. That includes stopping with long suspensions for fights. Hell, back in the day a good dustup would happen and then the guys having just brawled would go back to their base all bloodied up... No ejections, even. THAT was fun.

Now folks are ejected, suspended, and fined for walking up the line and staring down a guy that just drilled you in the ass (take that context as you will).
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I have no patience for Archer throwing at a guy for watching a home run or a bat flip. He does the equivalent stuff all the time.

Personally, I love the passion Archer plays with. He just can’t decide to drill people for displaying the same. It’s hypocritical.
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Agreed. Baseball is dumb. Some guy dunks over you in the NBA, they flex in your face, talk shit. Then one play later you are both probably laughing. And that is waaay worse than flipping a god damn bat after a HR.

Celebrating as a pitcher or batter, should be expected and embraced. Taunting is different.
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