Rozner: Bat flips in baseball not the problem

If you think Sunday's brawl was something, wait until the national baseball media types are done throwing haymakers.

There will be the group designated as old-school dinosaurs, who believe a good punch to the face is just what the doctor ordered.

And on the other side will be the new-school thought police, who believe their answers are the law of gods, not merely human opinion.

It's no longer a disturbing trend. Shouting down the other side is the state of discourse in this country, where every conversation is partisan in a world without statesmanship.

You have the cave men who actually played sports and think it should never change vs. those who never left mom's basement or picked up a glove, yet are certain every answer rests within a laptop.

Nonsense, of course.

They don't come any brighter than Theo Epstein, and he will suggest you a fool for ignoring the human element and scouting in baseball, and equally ignorant for eschewing the great advantages metrics can unearth.

The answer, now and forever, is in the middle.

As for Toronto and Texas, there is much blame to go around, but one very easy place to start.

If you've ever competed or spent time around professional athletes, what you already know is it wasn't Jose Bautista's bat flip that started this fight.

Granted, it's odd that the bat flip excites some folks more than the monstrous home run Bautista hit in Toronto that sent the Rangers home for the winter.

Yeah, that's a postseason, series-winning home run. Kind of a big deal. But the flip was celebrated far beyond the feat. The new wave of voices that focuses on frivolity is as laughable as the old-school keepers of the game who hate a hint of color.

No matter. Not the problem.

The problem was Bautista stared at Rangers reliever Sam Dyson before his celebrated toss.

This has nothing to do with old school or new school.

It's disrespectful, period, and it's precisely where Sunday's brawl began, albeit many months ago.

It speaks to the level of misunderstanding that every brawl story focused on the flipping toss, which is merely a player celebrating a great moment with extraordinary emotion and passion. It was the scream of joy that couldn't be heard over the roar of a crazed dome.

The stare-down was the issue.

You are taught as a young player by your coaches and parents to respect the game and respect your opponent.

This is a simple concept and not hard to accomplish. It has nothing to do with competing and hating. That's a healthy part of sports. Disrespect is not.

And pitchers are guilty, too.

Running off the mound and pointing at the sky is a genuine celebration of excitement and achievement.

Glaring at and yelling at your vanquished foe is not.

Look, not every player is going to be Andre Dawson, who believed respect was as relevant as his performance. Drop the bat, run around the bases, quietly shake hands and act like you've done it before.

But staring at the pitcher after you've just ended his World Series hopes is totally unnecessary and will cause people to remember that moment.

That was Bautista's error, and that's what led to Sunday's brawl.

Now, you can argue about all the rest of it. Waiting seven months. Hitting Bautista in his last at-bat of the season between the two teams. The illegal slide. The attempt to injure. The punch to the face. The dumb comments postgame.

Players used to do a pretty fair job of policing the game themselves, but baseball has legislated that out of the game, so in this case both sides did a terrible job. They all came out of it looking worse for it.

But pitchers who don't give up 500-foot home runs don't have to worry about being stared at on national TV in the biggest moment of their careers. And if you don't make 2 errors in an inning that cost you the season, you're not in that position.

Besides, not everything is an insult. Bat flips are a cultural expression. You can tell when they're not rehearsed. You can see genuine excitement. Sky points are an individual's right to express himself.

Glaring is shoving it down someone's throat.

Had Bautista said anything publicly or to Dyson at any point about regretting that part of it, Sunday's brawl never would have occurred.

So you won't see many reasonable discussions about this because there is an absence of reason.

Stake out a position. Scream louder. Insult.

Respect isn't just a lost concept in baseball.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.