A week ago Sunday we had a big, fun benches-clearing brawl because Chris Archer of the Pirates decided that it was bad form for Derek Dietrich of the Reds to admire a long homer he hit. That, as always, led to talk about unwritten rules, on-field decorum and all of that.
As I said at the time, it’s kind of a tiresome argument at this point. It’s also a pretty disingenuous one on the part of pitchers, most of whom fist pump and dance around in their big moments, often in ways that make a hitter’s bat flip or moment of admiration seem tame. Pitchers are emotional snowflakes when it comes to this stuff. And they’re often hypocritical, Chris Archer included.
Which brings us to Twins minor leaguer Dusten Knight, who currently plays for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the Double-A Southern League. Based on his performance after notching a couple of saves this past week, one hopes that he is not the sort who gets bent out of shape when an opposing batter struts around a bit:
Bat flips? Why let hitters have all the fun?#BackFlipSZN@MiLB @ESPNAssignDesk @SLeagueBaseball pic.twitter.com/1AbrOadXN2
— Pensacola Blue Wahoos (@BlueWahoosBBall) April 12, 2019
Another save. Another backflip. pic.twitter.com/QqZP4Ywhj3
— Pensacola Blue Wahoos (@BlueWahoosBBall) April 16, 2019
Someone ask Chris Archer if this is OK.