The Joba Chamberlain Rules: How to Celebrate, and When the Antics Are Okay

Take a look at the photo above you, if that isn't the picture of intensity, then I don't know what is.

However, this intensity has been vilified in the past few days by everyone from Dave Delluci to Goose Gossage, both of whom complained that the celebration was excessive and broke some of baseball's unwritten rules.

So I decided to take a page out of Joe Torre's book and come up with my own 'Joba Rules' regarding when it is ok to celebrate and when it isn't.

When it's ok

1. If your team is either tied or winning, and there is a runner in scoring position in the eighth or ninth inning.

This is an extremely important and crucial moment of the game, and I am sure Joba, Papelbon, and everyone else is running on pure adrenaline.

Therefore you can't fault the man if he gets that crucial out that saves his team.

2. If you strikeout a batter in the eighth or ninth inning to end the inning. The crowd is what facilitates this reaction. I know at Fenway Park, whenever there are two strikes on a hitter in the late innings, the fans all stand up and cheer. So when Joba blows 98 mph heat by somebody and the crowd goes wild, he is just feeding off the crowd.

3. If you are a relief pitcher in an opposing team's ballpark and you are called upon to kill a rally, or prevent any runs from scoring from the sixth inning on.

This one gets a little more leeway because the pitcher coming in must feel the weight on his shoulders. Opposing fans are hurling taunts, yelling and screaming, and you are trying to pitch.

So if you get out of the inning unscathed, you should be allowed to fist-pump once or twice. You just did your job.

When it's NOT ok

1. Any celebration before the sixth inning, in any scenario, is unnecessary and just downright show-boating.

C'mon! If you do that, you are just like every other pitcher who has pitched in the majors. There is still a lot of baseball to be played.

I can imagine a stockbroker showing off a little if he just nailed a really big deal, but if it's just your run-of-the-mill stock sale, you won't see him show off because he isn't doing anything extraordinary, just his job.

2. If the player you faced has dominated you all night, and you just got the best of him this once.

This is why Joba's celebration was so lame. Two nights before, David Delluci had made Joba the goat by hitting a pinch-hit home run to give the Indians the win.

Now Joba is celebrating in a game where his team is already winning by three runs and nobody is on base.

Just like Delluci said, his home run was waaaaaaaay more critical, and he could have gave a fist-pump rounding the bases, but instead he went about his business, and now Joba celebrates in a completely ridiculous way.

3. If the game isn't close.

This one goes back to Joba again. Most teams who enter the eighth inning with a three-run lead go on to win. What Joba did was not extraordinary.

He struck a guy out with nobody on base, and absolutely no threat to score.

If the game is not close, or there is no threat that the game is going to get close, it's showboating.

It's like Bill Belichek getting that extra touchdown when the Patriots are already winning by 30, it's just stupid.

4. If it's not a strikeout.

I can't tell you how many times I have seen someone like Jose Valverde celebrate after the inning ends on a ground out to second base.

Weak.

Don't celebrate after the guy made his best effort. You could have made a mistake pitch and gotten lucky. It's like an NBA player yelling and beating his chest after a made lay-up.

You don't see it, and it doesn't deserve the extra emotion.

I don't get pumped up when I see Papelbon end a close game by inducing a ground out the same way as I get pumped to watch him to do it with a strikeout. It just can't compare.

Two more things before I check out.

Joba doesn't even pitch in the ninth inning. He is responsible for holding the lead. He is like the first mate, he has to make sure the ship stays straight while the captain gets some sleep.

Where does he get off celebrating like he has done something remarkable. Striking someone out is an everyday occurrence. As a matter of fact, it happens far more often than a pinch-hit three-run homer.

He needs to tone it down.

The other thing that really unnerves me are the people who continue to argue that if hitters do it after a home run, then pitchers should be able to do it after a strikeout.

First of all, only a handful of hitters actually stop and admire their home runs, as opposed to the rest who run them out like they were a part of baseball.

And secondly, a home run is a far greater feat than a strikeout.

Last season, Joba Chamberlain struck out 34 batters in 24 innings. This is a incredible stat and a testament to just how good a pitcher he is.

But I am curious to know if there has ever been a hitter who has even hit 34 home runs in 34 at bats.

My point is that a strike out is a regular occurrence, one that a pitcher gets three chances to do per inning.

A home run is a rarer occurrence; it is something that a hitter gets a chance to do three or four times per GAME.

So in conclusion, people should celebrate home runs more than they should celebrate strike outs