Was Padres phenom Fernando Tatis Jr. wrong in crushing a 3-0 pitch Monday night, breaking one of baseball's ludicrous unwritten rules with his team ahead 10-3 late?
"That’s a washed rule because if we’re supposed to take 3-0, then the pitcher is supposed to throw us a fastball 3-1," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said Tuesday on ESPN 1000's "Kap & J.Hood."
Tatis sparked controversy amongst baseball's No Fun Committee, missing a take sign in a 3-0 count against the Rangers and blasting a grand slam in the eighth inning. The next pitch Texas threw went behind the back of third baseman Manny Machado.
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After the game, Rangers manager Chris Woodward, while admitting baseball's unwritten rules are being challenged in the game today, said he didn't like Tatis swinging 3-0 in that spot. Padres manager Jayce Tingler criticized Tatis after the game, calling it a "learning opportunity" but clarified Tuesday he was referring to missing a sign rather than breaking an unwritten rule.
"You're up by seven in the eighth inning; it's typically not a good time to swing 3-0. It's kind of the way we were all raised in the game," Woodward said. "But, like I said, the norms are being challenged on a daily basis. So just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not right. I don’t think we liked it as a group."
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Rizzo offered a different perspective.
"That unwritten rule needs to be washed away because [pitchers] may not even throw you a fastball down the middle anymore 3-0," he said.
"I can see guys getting ticked off but he did exactly what he was supposed to do swinging at a 3-0 pitch, and that’s hit a grand slam. I don't know if you can be that ticked off about it.
"Our job is to get a hit every single time we go to the plate."