Belt’s bat-flip one for the ages

Sometimes Twitter- and podcast-contributor, Jesse Pereira, was had an interesting take on the baseball games of Friday night. I asked him to write a post about it, and he did so on Friday night. You can find Jesse’s Twitter account (@mind_butter) here. 

Yasiel Puig’s bat-flipping will set the stage for the tongue-lashing Brandon Belt is sure to get from fans and fellow players, right?. By Owen Main

The Nationals-Giants game was a treat, with all the crucial elements that make postseason baseball, particularly postseason baseball in 2014 — so exciting. Great pitching, clutch late inning heroics, extra inning, and a game winning home run. Brandon Belt not only hit a moonshot into the stands, but dropped a bat flip for the ages.

Tomorrow morning we will surely have to read all the articles decrying Belt’s obvious lack of respect for the game. We’ve been through this before, and the media doesn’t like the bat flip. Just ask Yasiel Puig.

Puig is arguably the most accomplished bat-flipper in Major League Baseball today. This skill has certainly attracted considerable attention from players and spectators alike. Belt will get an earful tonight, from the likes of Madison Bumgarner – a noted critic of Puig’s flipping talent.

Baseball has unwritten rules, and young players like Belt and Puig need to learn respect or be taught it with high heat, benching, whatever it takes to get the lesson across.