When I played Little League Baseball many years ago, it seems as if we spent as much time and energy devising trick plays designed to deceive our opponents as we did working on fundamentals. Our efforts typically involved variations of the “hidden ball” trick. I should note that our coaches did not instigate or encourage our trickery; rather, our collective mind-set naturally tended toward duplicity, at least in baseball. For some reason, we did not approach other sports with the same attitude.
Baseball, perhaps because of its relatively slow pace and constant emphasis on strategy, has always been noted as a sport that rewards trickery. Add to that the extensive list of “unwritten rules” in baseball and you have the elements for an ethically challenging sport. In fact, Jack Bowen (a coach, author and philosopher) has written eloquently in his postings on this site about situations involving baseball (and other sports) that give rise to ethical concerns, and I highly recommend Jack’s postings if you have not already read them.
Let’s start with an example of trickery at the high school level. This “play” would appear to have been practiced and rehearsed, so one would assume the high school coaches felt it was a legitimate part of the game. What do you think? On the one hand, this play definitely punishes a player for taking his eye off the ball, a cardinal sin in any sport. On the other hand, it features choreography that distorts the normal baseball play. Is there such a thing as too much deception in a sporting contest? Or, should we simply adopt a “let the player beware” policy and allow everything, no matter how deceptive?
Here is an example of deception at a high competitive level, namely, a game between Miami and Wichita State in the NCAA College World Series. In fact, the play has come to be known as, “The Grand Illusion.” Note the attitude of the television announcers as they praise the degree of deception and the commitment to the misleading actions demonstrated by Miami in this play. Do we feel any different about this play than we do about the deceptive play executed by the high school team in the previous link? Does it matter that the deceived player for Wichita was older and more experienced, and that he competed for one of the top baseball programs in the country? Do we feel he “should have known better,” more so than the younger high school player in the previous link? Is it more acceptable to deceive mature, highly skilled players?
Here is a play where UCLA tried and failed to deceive LSU with a fake pickoff attempt. This play has been around forever and yes, it sometimes works. Do we think less of UCLA for trying to deceive their opponent, or for failing to deceive their opponent? Or do we just not think less of UCLA for this effort in any event? Is this simply business as usual?
This acting performance by a college player seems to me somehow less acceptable and more unethical than the other attempts to deceive. Given the extent to which the Arkansas player complained and acted as if he were hurt, one wonders if he somehow believed that his claim of being hit by the pitch was true. Or maybe he figured that once he committed to the lie he simply had to see it through. Of course, showing up an umpire is typically not the best way to conduct yourself, as this young man learned.
Baseball is replete with examples of actions that are based on deception. Pitchers allegedly doctor the baseballs to get more movement on their pitches, batters allegedly alter their bats for enhanced performance, teams attempt to steal signs from their opponents, home teams have been known to manipulate the length and condition of their infield depending on the opponent, and so on. So in looking at the expectation of players and coaches in this sport, is it fair to say that a culture of deception is inherent in the sport of baseball? Should we simply accept as our reality the proposition that all participants in a baseball game (players and coaches) are potential cheaters?
I welcome your comments.
