MLB Steroid Scandal: Written and Unwritten Rules

Unwritten rules are a part of every sport, but in baseball they are ingrained into the fabric of the game. 

The unwritten rules are exactly that, unwritten. There is no official document. 

Players are taught these rules starting all the way back in little league.  The rules are similar to a code of conduct in the corporate business world.  Players are expected to know the rules, follow them, or face the consequences.    

The consequences can be mentally or physically challenging.  They can range from getting publicly chastised in the media or benched and can escalate to having the ball intentionally thrown at you by the opposing pitcher or having a base runner intentionally try to knock you on the ground.  The consequences are a way for baseball to police itself, which in turn, maintains the integrity of the game.

There are hundreds of unwritten rules, but the most common unwritten rules include the following:

1)     Don’t steal signs.

2)     Don’t show up a pitcher after you hit a home run.

3)     Don’t steal a base when your team is way ahead.

4)     Don’t bunt to break up a no-hitter or perfect game.

5)     Don’t mention a no-hitter or perfect game in progress.

6)     If your pitcher hits one of our batters we will hit one of yours.

7)     When breaking up a double play make it a clean slide.

8)     There is a “neighborhood play” when turning a double play.

9)     Don’t give up a home run on a 3-0 count, waste the pitch.

10)   Always run out ground balls, even routine ones.

A great example is back in 2001 when Curt Schilling took a perfect game into the eighth inning versus the San Diego Padres. 

San Diego catcher Ben Davis, seeing that second baseman Jay Bell was playing deep to prevent a hit, successfully put down a drag bunt in front of Bell that broke up the perfect game and the no-hitter. 

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly was furious after the game and called Davis a “chicken.”  Davis was publicly humiliated and berated by fans and the media.  He was said to have disrespected the game of baseball and now his name will forever be linked to this incident. 

You will not find one mention in the 2008 Official Rules of Major League Baseball book about bunting to break up a no-hitter or perfect game. 

In fact, it seems Major League Baseball takes the enforcement of its unwritten rules more seriously than the written ones. 

What you will find in the book is a section on Major League Baseball’s drug policy.  Unfortunately, this “written” rule regarding performance enhancing drugs has been largely overlooked for many years by players, owners, and the commissioner’s office. 

Over the last few years home runs, attendance, revenues, and the popularity of the sport have been increasing.  After Jose Canseco’s book Juiced, the Mitchell Report, hearings with Congress, and constant speculation and rumors the game has been forever changed.   

The fallout has tarnished the game of baseball, but most importantly, has disrupted the integrity of the game. 

Major League Baseball still does not have a test for HGH and other performance enhancing drugs on their banned substances list.  They need to move forward with a new approach.  A comprehensive and strict drug policy that includes a blood or urine test for players needs to be put in place.

The written rules need to be enforced with more vivacity than the unwritten rules, but with regards to performance enhancing drugs, up to this point, that has not been the case.