HBP and Umpire Warnings

Something very interesting is going on in baseball concerning batters getting hit and umpires giving teams the warning and MLB will need to address this soon.

Here's what happens: If the umpire feels like a pitcher intentionally throws at a batter, he warns both benches, and if it happens again, the pitcher and his manager get ejected from the game.

But watch what happens. Because of the culture of modern baseball, a batter feels like everytime he gets hit, it must have been intentional. So the response of the batter is influencing the umpire on whether or not the HBP was intentional.

So look at the power a batter can have now: It's the top of the first and your star #3 hitter gets plunked on an inside fastball. There was nothing intentional by the pitcher - it was inside and got away. But...if you tell your star #3 hitter to make a scene out of it, he will have power over the whole situation. If the batter charges the mound and fights, he will get ejected, so you don't want him to do that. You just have him say a few words to the pitcher, give the catcher time to get out and stop him, the benches might clear - one of the quasi-fights we see so often. Nobody will get ejected in this situation but the umpire will be forced to give the warning to both benches so that nothing gets out of hand!

Even though the warning goes to both pitchers, it especially holds true for the pitcher who just hit the batter. That pitcher can no longer pitch inside or run the batter off the plate or even hit a batter without getting ejected. He is forced to throw outside and the opposing lineup knows it. They are diving over the plate crushing every pitch and if the pitcher wants to keep them honest by throwing inside - he'll get ejected.... all because the star#3 hitter made a fake scene after he got hit earlier.

If the star #3 hitter would have just ran to first after he got hit, like a mature, real player should, none of this would happen. No warnings, no nothing. But because the player acted like a selfish, overpayed baby, he controls the potential outcome of the game.