Fernando Tatis Jr. upsets baseball's whiners and their unwritten rules

The subject of unwritten rules is not new. So-called violations of these codes pop up often enough that even just a quick search shows that I have written about unwritten rules many times over the last decade.

Davey Johnson in 2012? He had no time for your unwritten rules, and I loved it.

Justin Bieber inadvertently stood on the logo in the middle of Chicago's locker room, violating what almost certainly is the dumbest unwritten rule in hockey — if not all sports. I noticed in 2013.

The Twins beaned a guy because he stole a base in a 9-2 game in 2018? Not smart, especially since the Twins ended up getting the tying run to the plate later in a 9-6 loss.

And just last year, Jake Cave swung at a 3-0 pitch and drilled a base hit with the Twins ahead 13-5. Max Kepler, next man up, was beaned as a result. Cave had the audacity to try to keep competing. The nerve! He definitely upset the baseball dork gods.

So now we have the case of Fernando Tatis Jr. swinging at a 3-0 pitch and smashing a grand slam Monday. This awesomeness from one of baseball's best young players was allegedly an unwritten crime because the Padres were already winning 10-3 in the 8th inning when he unloaded on the pitch.

This is the purest form of nonsense, of course — with hand-wringing coming from various sources including Tatis' own manager, Jayce Tingler. His displeasure was couched in the notion that Tatis missed a take sign, which I'll buy a little. But his quote was still dripping with condescension.

"He's young, a free spirit and focused and all those things," Tingler said. "That's the last thing that we'll ever take away. It's a learning opportunity, and that's it. He'll grow from it."

Plenty of others called out the absurdity of chastising Tatis, so at least there was that. Maybe Reggie Jackson carries the most weight?

I also really liked the take from former MLB pitcher Gregg Olson.

Look: Sportsmanship is a real thing, but the problem with those who would like baseball players to step off the gas in a lopsided game is inherent in the sport itself. In short: There's no clock, so anything can happen. A basketball team dribbling out the final minutes of a blowout is one thing, as is a football team chewing up clock while up several touchdowns.

But let's say Tatis doesn't swing 3-0. Let's say he does hit the 3-1 pitch, but it's a tougher one and he grounds into a double play. Inning over, Padres up 10-3 after the top of the eighth, and they still have to get six outs for the win.

They're still likely to win. But it's not guaranteed.

So how about this: Play hard. Play to win. And amend the unwritten rule that there's no crying in baseball to also include that there's no whining about unwritten rules.