Paul A. Garcia: Baseball reinforces civility, virtue

The game of baseball is notorious for keeping an abundant array of statistics on batters, pitchers, and base runners. The game is meticulously governed by a rule book that every little league coach keeps in a back pocket.

In Major League Baseball, the rule book contains nine sections over 240 pages. In addition, baseball is steeped in rich lore and tradition that is passed on through generations of players and fans. Indeed, baseball is an enterprise made explicitly precise by numbers, rules, and time honored traditions. But baseball’s real majesty is its ability to reinforce American standards of civility and virtue.

There is another side of baseball that you will not find written in any baseball textbooks, displayed in the daily box scores, or contained in scouting reports. The unwritten codes of baseball are demonstrated every day and often escape the casual observer. Yet the codes are as integral to baseball as the stolen base, suicide squeeze or hit and run. In fact, the codes represent the values and appropriate conduct for players more than any rule, strategy, or ritual.

For example, you will never see a batter exert grandiose behavior after hitting a home run similar to when a football player spikes the ball after a touchdown, or a basketball player hangs on the rim after a dunk, or a soccer player slides on their knee after a goal. Instead, the hitter is expected to contain his excitement in the interest of sportsmanship. This code is honored to demonstrate respect for the pitcher and display genuine humility by the batter.

This leads to another unwritten universal code of baseball. On rare occasions, when the batter breaks the code and conducts an overly celebratory act that disgraces the pitcher, he can expect in his next at bat, a pitch to hit him in the ribcage or buttocks. This code is necessary to keep the merits of competition on the game, not the player. No player is bigger than the game and no accomplished act is allowed to defy its reputation.

However, there are times when the player’s health is paramount to the game. At times, catchers suffer injuries from inadvertently tipped balls that strike them where their equipment isn’t. The baseball manages to find the uncovered throat, groin area, arm, or hand. Even a direct hit to the face mask can jolt the catcher and remind them why catchers’ gear is called the tools of ignorance.

When catchers themselves are caught, it is customary for the batter to step out of the batter’s box and feign a need for extra time, the umpire will walk toward the pitcher and act like he needs a break, or he will brush home plate as if it is in serious need of attention.

Opposing fans who misinterpret the ritual will yell at the umpire that it’s his failing eyesight not the plate that is the cause for his missed calls. The purpose of the pause is to give catchers time to recuperate, but more importantly, to demonstrate that the game takes care of its own.

Curiously, the ritual held for catchers does not apply to batters. Where the attention to injured catchers is deliberate and compassionate, when a hitter is struck by the ball, he must not rub or massage the wound. Instead, he is expected to absorb the pain without benefit of any physical relief, make his way to first base and heal in a timely manner. The applause of the fans is more an appreciation that the game will continue, than it is for the hurt batsman. The code requires hitters to dignify the game, not themselves.

The unwritten codes of baseball are not just about player etiquette, ethics, or sportsmanship.

Beyond baseball, the codes are symbolic of cherished American values and beliefs. Learn to be humble during triumph. Take genuinely care of each other and not expect reward or acclaim. When others hurt you, brush it off. Command respect, not only for yourself; but for your family, team, or company.

Above all, play according to the rules, it’s expected. But if you want to have character and earn respect, don’t break the codes.

This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Paul A. Garcia: Baseball reinforces civility, virtue."