RIP George Carlin

"In baseball, the object is to be safe at home! I hope I'll be safe at home!"

Ker-Plunk!

Here is an interesting article by Rick Reilly on the controversial beaning of an umpire during a high school championship game in Georgia. Apparently, the pitcher, catcher, and (recently-drafted-by-the-Dodgers hotshot) shortstop conspired to bean the home plate ump in the facemask in retribution to his shitty job of calling balls and strikes. Take a look at the video.

Funny how my dormant yet passionate hatred of both umpires and dickweed punk-ass jocks renders my judgment of this specific incident neutral. But it makes me consider the circumstances on a larger scale.

Thinking back exactly 10 years ago to the 1998 high school Vermont state championships--in which I was the starting pitcher--and the asshole in blue who squeezed me out of successfully executing my two bread and butter pitches--outside corner fastball and inside corner backdoor slider--let's say it would have felt mighty good to get some retribution out of a losing situation like those little bitches from Georgia.

But I'm not a little bitch, and for better or for worse I generally subscribe to virtues of sportsmanship; ie., patience, grace, strength, blah blah blah...you know what sportsmanship is. Not showing up the opponent in a winning situation; stoicism when on the losing end.

The catcher who ducked to allow the ball to hit the ump--Matt Hill--might have to pay the ump damages and lost his opportunity to join his college team in the fall. Certainly, he is paying for his part in an unusual, blatant, and dangerous act of poor sportsmanship.

I probably have stressed it before numerous times, but I think of guys like this Hill kid as sacrificial lambs--despite being guilty--because they take the fall when athletes--hell, all people--do dumb shit like this everyday. For instance, take this kid, who faces 38 years in jail for cheating in school. Really? Kids cheat? You mean, like the student athletes who used to pay me and any other smart kid desperate (or greedy) enough to write their essays at $50 a page? God forbid high school teachers or college professors acknowledge how many students cheat these days. We'd have a mass suicide in the profession. Both cheating and ignoring the problem are too easy to do, too easy to get away with.

Ultimately, sure, if you bust an 18- or 22-year-old kid doing something they damn well know is wrong, you hold them accountable. But here's an idea--how about holding the adults responsible for them accountable as well? Hill's coach "believed" his team's catcher when he said he just missed the pitch, as he was expecting curveball.

I had a hard time liking the majority of my coaches (and teachers for that matter) over the years. With a lot of them it's either too military or too lenient. But when it comes to the on-field behavior and off-field safety, there's no denying that they have a huge obligation to do the right thing. Otherwise, should we wait to investigate or accept responsibility when the evidence of unacceptable behavior is rubbed in our face? Do we wait until it's too late?