3 ms·

Maybe OP only watched baseball a long time ago, where runners could, say, smash the catcher at home plate to try to get him to drop the ball. Those rules have

Maybe OP only watched baseball a long time ago, where runners could, say, smash the catcher at home plate to try to get him to drop the ball. Those rules have also been changed and those plays are extremely rare, and also frowned upon by players. However, the pitcher intentionally throwing a ball 90 mph at a batter's head because of some perceived slight is still part of the game.

davidthewatson 3y ago
Thanks for your comment. Indeed, smashing the catcher at home plate was common whether initiated by the catcher or the base runner. For over one hundred years, MLB has debated whether there is any place for violence at home plate between base runners and catchers, intentional or otherwise. It is a complex question that has been answered by rules and player attitudes with little consensus between rule makers, players, and spectators, which, of course, closely mirrors society at large. I love baseball and golf and have participated in both, but only as a young player. To me, spectator sports that aren't the Tour de France, F1, or WRC are just not dense enough with action to sustain my interest, even if that action is enabled by wheels and sources of power that may not be human. This tension between safety and freedom is a theme that has played a role for at least as long as the publication of Trevor Melia's book, "Lucifer State", more than four decades ago. I'm out-of-my-depth in classics but I'd be surprised if there weren't a much older reference to this tension in antiquity. The role of that tension in modern society most certainly divides the room whether we are talking about art, sports, or life itself.