Chicago White Sox: Let the fun continue, for goodness sakes
By Tim Healey
Throwing at batters after they celebrated a homer is uncalled for. No one knows that better than these Chicago White Sox.
Chicago White Sox infielder Tim Anderson has been involved with beef with the Kansas City Royals a few times this season, all because he flipped his bat after a home run back in April.
He was plunked again Wednesday by Royals’ pitcher Glenn Sparkman, who was immediately sent packing. It’s possible Sparkman wasn’t trying to hit him, and even White Sox manager Rick Renteria suggested it was an accident.
Still – I’m tired of players being punished for having a little bit of fun. I understand that it sucks to lose a battle and how a pitcher and his teammates might be frustrated by the opponent celebrating. I also understand that if I was a Royals fan, I might be defending them for throwing at Anderson and railing against his bat-flipping. Your loyalties as a fan may skewer your perspective.
That said – baseball is fun. Kevin Costner said so in Bull Durham. It’s a child’s game played by well-paid adults for the entertainment of fans of all ages. There’s no need for it to be stodgy and stuffy.
There’s the larger picture at play, here, too – at least for Sox fans. It’s not all about players who have fun and are marketable as such. This team is going through a rebuild, so it helps to watch guys have fun, since this team isn’t expected to contend before next year (and especially since there has been some grim injury news of late).
A four-game winning streak also adds to the fun factor, to be sure. But if the Sox aren’t going to be talking about October baseball before 2020, let them have some fun now.
Let’s extend that to all of MLB. No more red-cheeked overreactions to someone having a bit of merriment. Baseball always needs new fans, and fun can only help.
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At the very least, Anderson has no need to be on the IL because someone threw at him, or on the suspended list because he used a bad word during a brawl. Let him play and flip his bat as he may.