baseball may be god’s favorite sport. it is a game of discipline and ritual. it is a game of practice and dedication. it is a game when one can achieve “perfection.” baseball can be a game of david beating goliath as well as one of heroics and miracles. it is a game in which a mighty arm can carry a team to victory. it is a game of both written and unwritten rules.
stealing is part of baseball. baseball officially sanctions the theft of bases. base theft can lead to great drama and intrigue. one of baseball’s iconic moments was when the great dodger jackie robinson stole home in the 1955 world series against the yankee great yogi berra. base stealing is an art form. in modern day baseball, there are very few who became master thieves. the likes of rickey henderson, lou brock and tim raines are worthy of this title.
baseball, unfortunately, has another form of theft. this theft, however, is not permitted. it is the stealing the catcher’s signs to the pitcher which is known as “sign stealing.”
in baseball, there is a pitcher and a catcher. the catcher, through hand signs, displayed when in a crouching position, visually communicates to the picture the type of pitch to throw as well as the location. a batter, knowing the pitches type and location, presents a huge advantage in being able to hit the pitch. hitting a baseball pitch, which can travel at velocities exceeding 90 mph that can also be twisting and turning is one of the hardest things to do in sports. this sign stealing can be done by placing a camera or individual in the stands at a location behind the pitcher so that they can steal the sign.
in the 2017, world series and playoffs, the houston astros disgraced the major leagues. they “stole” signs. mr. carlos beltran, in a recent interview, admitted that the team crossed the line. he was the only player to come forward and provide the league details. he admitted that there was a “stain” on their title. he indicated that “we all did what we did,” beltran said. “looking back today, we were wrong. i wish i would’ve asked more questions about what we were doing. i wish the organization would’ve said to us, ‘hey man, what you guys are doing, we need to stop this.’” nypost.com this story displays how groupthink can be a source of immorality. individuals in the group are often afraid to come forward to offer a moral point of view. this explains the role of the prophet in society.
while mlb baseball punished the team, they allowed the cheating astros to remain as world series champions. in doing so, the mlb allowed the stain of the cheat to fall upon the league. this is the power of immoral conduct. it is like a disease that can transmit to others.
the cheat also deprived baseball fans of witnessing one of its greatest rivalries: the new york yankees versus the los angeles dodgers. a once in a generation west coast-east coast battle could have occurred. this rivalry made in part epic via mr. jackie robinson’s base stealing heroics. had this world series occurred, without doubt, the robinson family would have been called upon to throw out the ceremonious first pitch. this would have been a truly bright moment for baseball instead of has become an eternal stain.
be well!!
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