Reasons Why The Bean Ball Needs To Make a Comeback

On Sunday afternoon, the New York Mets fell just short of a comeback against the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the ninth. The Giants closer Brian (not a Beach Boy) Wilson, gave up a leadoff double to Jason Bay. He followed it by striking out the side.

That accomplishment was achieved by striking out the heart of the order, and that includes David Wright.

Wright was ejected for arguing but he has a history with these Giants. Last season, he was drilled in the head by this same team and the Mets never showed retaliation. It was certainly not intentional, but the pitch that hit him was intended as a brush back pitch.

It was thrown strategically with the intent of scaring Wright to hold his batting stance a little further away from the plate, so that the pitcher's next pitch would be out of reach.

This is a common practice. However, when a player is hit, it is often viewed as damaging and an almost unforgivable act. This act is only allowed to be forgiven if there is retaliation.

A case in point, Mike Piazza was hit in the head by Roger Clemens several years back, and the Mets had to at least try to hit Clemens when he had an at bat the next time he played the Mets . They missed Clemens in their attempts, but at least they tried to send a message. 

These days, the umpires call a warning to both teams when they feel that there is a danger of such retaliation.

These are grown men and they have a difficult time being drilled and then warned that they cannot retaliate. That goes completely against everything that it means to be in the heat of battle and competitive.

The occasion never arose last season after Wright was beaned, but it did this year. The Mets never took advantage of it. They could have. They should have and that is unfortunate.

In the top of the ninth inning, closer Brian Wilson had a rare at bat. Closers never bat in a game. When it happens, a team must take advantage of it and rattle him. They should have brushed him back.

At the very least, the effort would have planted a seed of doubt in the minds of Giants' players and they would not have been able to retaliate without an ejection.

True, he is not the pitcher that hit Wright last August but it still sends a message.

The message: We're not taking this lying down and we will not fold. Had they done so, perhaps, Wilson would not have been so in control with a runner on second and no one out.

Perhaps, he would have not even pitched the ninth inning at all.

The Mets came back on the bullpen, not on Wilson. Had they done so, they may have been able to come back on Wilson. The game on the field is more than a game of athleticism. It is a mental game as well.

Often the outcomes are decided by who guesses right and who doesn't. The sport of baseball is a chess match more than any other sport and it is a battle of wits.

The hitters have so many weapons at their disposal. Whether the weapons that hitters have are baserunners tipping them off, video studies, memories of previous at bats against a particular pitcher, or even crowding the plate to better reach an outside pitch. Hitters have their own ways of playing that mind game.

The pitchers too have a few options. They also have film study and pitching coaches helping to properly plan for a particular hitter, but they do not have the luxury of missing the strike zone.

It is up to the pitcher to make the pitches, more than it is the hitter to get a hit. The pitcher, in this offense obsessed age have too few weapons to use without the ability to brush back a batter.

It is a necessary weapon in the arsenal of a pitcher for psychological warfare. I am not advocating injury, but in this homerun happy game that we see today, there are too few intimidating pitchers. Pitchers were intimidating in the pitching dominated eras because of this option.

Names like Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson, and even Roger Clemens in his prime not only had wonderful velocity and a great array of pitches, but there was always the doubt in the back of the hitter's mind that if they stepped too close in the batter's box, they would be on the ground.

These pitchers had a claim to home plate. It belonged to them.

That mentality is missing in today's game. It is a needed mentality. One of heart and determination, not to mention a mentality of pride in defending your honor and your team.

This action was one of unity. The rest of the team would immediately be there to defend their pitcher.

This is seldom seen today. I'm sure that if the thought of a bean ball was in the minds of the Giants' players, especially the pitchers, they would have played much more cautiously. If they had, the Mets would have swept the series.