The past couple seasons, MLB has made somewhat of an effort to market its young stars and encourage personalities with a “Let The Kids Play” campaign. It was an attempt by league to distance itself from the unwritten rules that have dictated the Right™️ way to play the game for decades.
The Pirates announcing crew of Greg Brown and Bob Walk aren’t quite ready to let go of those old ways — it would seem. That was clear during Wednesday’s broadcast of the Cardinals-Pirates game.
The “violation” in question took place during the fourth inning with the Cardinals leading 11-4. While a seven-run lead is a considerable advantage, there’s still plenty of game left to play. Yairo Munoz was on first and remained aggressive, stealing second and then later taking third with the base uncovered.
Both announcers weren’t pleased.
Brown said after the steal, “Always wonder about those unwritten rules.” And the exchange went on as Munoz took third.
Excuse me while I roll my eyes sooo hard. Can we stop it with the propagation of these unwritten rules please? It’s getting old.
Plus, this was hardly a violation of the dumb rule in the first place. Munoz wasn’t taking two bags in a late-game blowout. This was the fourth inning, and a seven-run lead is far from insurmountable. The Cardinals overcame that deficit just last week to beat the Reds.
If anything, they should blame the Pirates for ignoring the baserunner and not covering third.
The Cardinals went on to win, 14-8.
