# Please explain to me some of baseballs "unwritten rules" **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 21, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359 "2015-10-21T15:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/41 "2015-10-27T12:52:01Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Good example because while it’s not a written rule, it is so widely accepted that the neighborhood play is currently excluded from review. Among reviewable plays listed is this: > > _Force play (except the fielder’s touching of second base on a double play)_ > > That clearly is meant to preserve the neighborhood play, which I think is a good thing. And that’s part of why I had a huge problem with how the umpires handled the Utley play. Utley should have been out on the force, or out on the interference. Take your pick. The Utley play was specifically ruled not a neighborhood play as it was the throw that pulled him off the base and not the runner. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/42 "2015-10-27T13:17:35Z")
Yes, I’m aware of that and I thought it was a BS ruling. Actually, I think it’s a BS rule. You can review if the fielder is drawn off the bag but not if it’s a neighborhood play. Due to the protection of the neighborhood rule the second baseman might feed the SS a throw that takes him away from the incoming runner. I hate that it’s a reviewable play. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/43 "2015-10-27T14:25:54Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > After most sports victories players line up and shake each others hands. In the NFL the coaches even cross over to shake hands. I seldom see that in the MLB. Both teams just seem to just walk away. > > Why is that? It may have to do with nature of the game. In most other team sports, each team has the same number of players on the field, in physical contact for most of the time. The players have plenty of time to hit each other and the handshake lines (especially in hockey) are a good way to dissipate that potential animosity. Baseball is mostly 1 against 9 and doesn’t have a lot of direct physical contact. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/44 "2015-10-27T14:29:45Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > After most sports victories players line up and shake each others hands. In the NFL the coaches even cross over to shake hands. I seldom see that in the MLB. Both teams just seem to just walk away. > > Why is that? I wondered that myself. Seemed like bad sportsmanship. But there is this rule: > [@](#): > > Rule 3.09 > Players in uniform shall not address or mingle with spectators, nor sit in the stands before, during, or after a game. No manager, coach or player shall address any spectator before or during a game. Players of opposing teams shall not fraternize at any time while in uniform. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/45 "2015-10-27T14:42:21Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > After most sports victories players line up and shake each others hands. In the NFL the coaches even cross over to shake hands. I seldom see that in the MLB. Both teams just seem to just walk away. > > Why is that? Once again, tradition. Sportsmanship isn’t that big a thing in baseball on the field itself. There is the nature of the game though, there’s not a lot of one on one interaction, if anything the batters would all pass by the pitchers for a hand slap, otherwise there’s not that much interaction between the rest of the players. Unlike games where the players may have a series of interactions with each other a baseball game hinges on a few key plays, and one guy comes out looking great and the other had to slink back to the dugout. And then on top of that in baseball most of the time these guys are just going to play each other again tomorrow or even again that day. So IMHO it’s tradition, and sportsmanship isn’t a big part of baseball tradition. ETA: I see the rule cited above, yet players do fraternize on the field. A baseman and a runner may talk to each other, though often it’s an attempt to distract one or the other or both. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/46 "2015-10-27T15:35:43Z")
The fraternization rule has been [discussed](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=608723) [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=10567) [before](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=763689). One poster back in 2000 hypothesized the “rule was probably put on the books to keep gamblers away from players (the part about not talking to people in the stands) and to give people the idea that the players weren’t conspiring to throw the game.” I would have thought there would be less emphasis on this now and more willingness to encourage friendly relations between teams, but evidently I’m wrong. In 2011, [Joe Torre made it a priority to enforce the anti-fraternization rule](http://nypost.com/2011/10/24/mlb-wants-to-put-end-to-frenemies-on-field/). > [@](#): > > One of Joe Torre’s first goals when he became Major League Baseball’s vice president of baseball operations was to reduce the amount of fraternization between opponents on the field when the gates were opened and fans were in the seats. > > Prior to Game 2, in full view of the crowd at a packed Busch Stadium, the Rangers’ Nelson Cruz and the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols conversed in short center field as a pregame ceremony was about to start. > > Torre said he didn’t see it, but starting next year there will be a price to pay if players are caught chatting with each other after the home team takes batting practice. > > “It sends the wrong message,” Torre said. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/47 "2015-10-27T15:51:14Z")
As I mentioned in one of those other threads, after Torre said he wanted to enforce the fraternization rule the rest of MLB collectively said, “nah.” The rule was then under consideration to be eliminated, but I believe it is, for whatever reason, still on the books. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/48 "2015-10-27T16:56:03Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > One poster back in 2000 hypothesized the “rule was probably put on the books to keep gamblers away from players (the part about not talking to people in the stands) **and to give people the idea that the players weren’t conspiring to throw the game.** ” I don’t know if the rule started before or after the BlackSox scandal, but there is something different about baseball where some think it’s prone to collusion between opposing players. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/49 "2015-10-27T17:08:22Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It may have to do with nature of the game. In most other team sports, each team has the same number of players on the field, in physical contact for most of the time. The players have plenty of time to hit each other and the handshake lines (especially in hockey) are a good way to dissipate that potential animosity. > > Baseball is mostly 1 against 9 and doesn’t have a lot of direct physical contact. While this is all perfectly reasonable rationalization, in youth baseball post-game handshakes are common/mandatory. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/50 "2015-10-27T17:11:32Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > While this is all perfectly reasonable rationalization, in youth baseball post-game handshakes are common/mandatory. Kids that age are still learning sportsmanship. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/51 "2015-10-27T19:44:58Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > While this is all perfectly reasonable rationalization, in youth baseball post-game handshakes are common/mandatory. I remember hearing several old color announcers comment on players having a quick chuckle on first base with the opposing fielder after a hit. It was something that was not done in the past. Even if you used to be on the same team and are best friends. I just think that players were rougher and where much more attached to a specific team. Ty Cobb would probably shoot you if he saw you talking to the other team. Bob Gibson would probably bean you during batting practice. I think more than anything free agency changed the attitude. Still no after game handshake but there is generally a friendlier attitude between teams. Is [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvSmfyRc3pM)fraternization with fans? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/52 "2015-10-27T20:11:45Z")
Players fraternize with fans all the time. They sign autographs before games. Some outfielders like to talk to fans. I remember when Dave Henderson was with the A’s, he had a set of hand signals worked out with the fans in the center field bleachers to tell them which bar he was going to after the game. ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/53 "2015-10-28T13:05:43Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Oh I forgot one that I learned in Little League that I still look for at a Someone-Beating-The-Rockies game. Never step on the foul line when coming out of the dugout. > [@Telemark](#): > > That’s a superstition, not an unwritten rule. Stepping on the foul line won’t piss off the other team. It is a superstition but there’s also a practical reason for it. The groundskeepers get pissed if anyone messes up the lines before the game starts. Perhaps the groundskeepers started the superstition. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/54 "2015-10-28T13:10:47Z")
But then the very first batter scrapes the batter’s box lines away. Might as well not bother. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/55 "2015-10-28T13:24:29Z")
Sounds more like a “break your mother’s back” kind of thing. Players don’t care that much about groundskeepers, especially the visiting team. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/56 "2015-10-29T03:34:40Z")
I’m from Aus, so please explain to me this: Why is stealing signs such a bad thing? The pitcher and catcher are trying to trick you - they are not going to tell you where the ball is going. Why can’t I steal the sign? And why is the runner at 2nd allowed to do it - just not the batter? Why was it such a big thing that the 1951 NY Giants were found to have stolen signs 60 years ago? Gee whizz, if you are worried about the batters stealing the sign, make some new codes. Does the same apply to opposition managers and base coaches doing their silly ‘touch arm, touch ear, touch cap, rub chest, swing away’ codes? If by chance you work out what they are, are you allowed to tell your teammates? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/57 "2015-10-29T04:25:20Z")
Stealing signs on the field, just by looking, is one thing. It’s using off-field observers and technological assistance that is thought very low. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359/58 "2015-10-29T05:59:20Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Stealing signs on the field, just by looking, is one thing. It’s using off-field observers and technological assistance that is thought very low. It’s not just that. It’s considered bad sportsmanship for a batter to look back at the catcher to try to figure out what the next pitch will be. I think **Wallaby** has a point. Some of the unwritten rules seem inconsistent and arbitrary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-some-of-baseballs-unwritten-rules/735359.md?page=2)