Post by RS Davis on Oct 7, 2004 10:22:34 GMT -5
Curtain calls impress even Dodgers players
By Tom Timmermann
Jim Edmonds acknowledges the Busch Stadium
crowd after hitting a homer run in the third
inning of Game 1. The fans asked for, and received,
curtain calls for each of the Cardinals' five homers Tuesday.
One of the cardinal rules of baseball, written at about the same time as the bases were placed 90 feet apart, is that you don't show up your opponent.
Baseball does not tolerate players standing and admiring a home run, stealing a base with a big lead or doing anything else that might be considered overtly flashy. The penalty, usually carried out by the pitcher, is a fastball toward a hitter's body.
One of the Cardinals rules of baseball, written by St. Louis fans over the past few years is, if you hit a home run, the crowd won't stop yelling its appreciation until they get a wave.
Five times in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Dodgers, Cardinals players hit home runs and were beseeched by the home faithful to come out and, in effect, take a bow. The fans don't ask for much - just a climb to the top step of the dugout and a tip of the hat - but they won't stop cheering until that's been done.
While to some that may smack of showing up the other guy - Look at me! I hit a homer! - Cardinals players have found over the course of the season that it's not an issue. Not only did Tuesday's five curtain calls, starting with one for a solo homer by Albert Pujols in the first inning, produce nary an inside pitch from the Dodgers, the LA players wouldn't mind if it served as the prototype for the rest of the league.
"I wish every ballpark would be like that, where they appreciate their players," Dodgers pitcher Jose Lima said. "I have a lot of respect for that, a lot of respect for the fans (in St. Louis). The way they carry themselves, they're not rude. ... You do something, they appreciate it, that's the main thing. I love it when my fans cheer for me, because that's a good feeling."
Game 2 starter Jeff Weaver said: "I don't see anything wrong with it. Obviously, I don't think it should cease the tempo of the game, but you know, the players are doing it for the fans. And the fans appreciate it. It's just one of those things, especially in the playoffs, where everything counts. They're making things happen."
One reason curtain calls might not violate baseball's norms is that they are largely out of a player's control. The fans are cheering and if baseball players should have learned anything by now, it's that the fans deserve to have their wishes respected. If they want a wave, they're entitled to a wave.
"They just don't stop," said Cards right fielder Larry Walker, who made two curtain calls on Tuesday. "They keep going and going, standing and clapping. Eventually, you figure out they've got to be clapping for what just happened, not what's about to happen. Then you go out, raise your hat, and it gets even louder."
If there is etiquette to the curtain call, part of it is a reluctance to acknowledge it. Players often need to be coaxed out - Mike Matheny was very hesitant to come out Tuesday after his fourth-inning homer - as if to say to the other team, this isn't my idea. (But you can't wait too long, lest you disturb the following batter as the pitch is coming.)
"We don't go our there and put our hands up like Rocky Balboa," Walker said. "You want to go out there and acknowledge the fans for acknowledging what you just did. We're not spending a minute and a half out there. We're not doing Leslie Nielsen (in 'Naked Gun') behind home plate, moonwalking or anything like that."
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa added: "I think (Matheny's) opinions almost always reflect not just our club, but really the professionalism. He had a tough time getting up there, but when your fans, who you're trying to excite and please, are screaming, they're not going to shut up. You take a curtain call. I think clubs nowadays realize it's part of the connection you make with your fans. Isn't that what we're trying to do? That's why you sign autographs. That's why you do a lot of stuff."
So at a time when certain players are throwing chairs or bottles at fans, the curtain call is welcome opportunity to toss some respect the fans' way.
"Every team I talk to that it happens against, they're impressed by it," said Cards left fielder Reggie Sanders, who by virtue of being on seven teams in the past seven seasons knows people everywhere. "You hit a home run, make a great catch or get a timely hit, they're going to show you love. You can't put a stop on how much love you get. If they're going to give it, keep giving it."
By Tom Timmermann
Jim Edmonds acknowledges the Busch Stadium
crowd after hitting a homer run in the third
inning of Game 1. The fans asked for, and received,
curtain calls for each of the Cardinals' five homers Tuesday.
One of the cardinal rules of baseball, written at about the same time as the bases were placed 90 feet apart, is that you don't show up your opponent.
Baseball does not tolerate players standing and admiring a home run, stealing a base with a big lead or doing anything else that might be considered overtly flashy. The penalty, usually carried out by the pitcher, is a fastball toward a hitter's body.
One of the Cardinals rules of baseball, written by St. Louis fans over the past few years is, if you hit a home run, the crowd won't stop yelling its appreciation until they get a wave.
Five times in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Dodgers, Cardinals players hit home runs and were beseeched by the home faithful to come out and, in effect, take a bow. The fans don't ask for much - just a climb to the top step of the dugout and a tip of the hat - but they won't stop cheering until that's been done.
While to some that may smack of showing up the other guy - Look at me! I hit a homer! - Cardinals players have found over the course of the season that it's not an issue. Not only did Tuesday's five curtain calls, starting with one for a solo homer by Albert Pujols in the first inning, produce nary an inside pitch from the Dodgers, the LA players wouldn't mind if it served as the prototype for the rest of the league.
"I wish every ballpark would be like that, where they appreciate their players," Dodgers pitcher Jose Lima said. "I have a lot of respect for that, a lot of respect for the fans (in St. Louis). The way they carry themselves, they're not rude. ... You do something, they appreciate it, that's the main thing. I love it when my fans cheer for me, because that's a good feeling."
Game 2 starter Jeff Weaver said: "I don't see anything wrong with it. Obviously, I don't think it should cease the tempo of the game, but you know, the players are doing it for the fans. And the fans appreciate it. It's just one of those things, especially in the playoffs, where everything counts. They're making things happen."
One reason curtain calls might not violate baseball's norms is that they are largely out of a player's control. The fans are cheering and if baseball players should have learned anything by now, it's that the fans deserve to have their wishes respected. If they want a wave, they're entitled to a wave.
"They just don't stop," said Cards right fielder Larry Walker, who made two curtain calls on Tuesday. "They keep going and going, standing and clapping. Eventually, you figure out they've got to be clapping for what just happened, not what's about to happen. Then you go out, raise your hat, and it gets even louder."
If there is etiquette to the curtain call, part of it is a reluctance to acknowledge it. Players often need to be coaxed out - Mike Matheny was very hesitant to come out Tuesday after his fourth-inning homer - as if to say to the other team, this isn't my idea. (But you can't wait too long, lest you disturb the following batter as the pitch is coming.)
"We don't go our there and put our hands up like Rocky Balboa," Walker said. "You want to go out there and acknowledge the fans for acknowledging what you just did. We're not spending a minute and a half out there. We're not doing Leslie Nielsen (in 'Naked Gun') behind home plate, moonwalking or anything like that."
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa added: "I think (Matheny's) opinions almost always reflect not just our club, but really the professionalism. He had a tough time getting up there, but when your fans, who you're trying to excite and please, are screaming, they're not going to shut up. You take a curtain call. I think clubs nowadays realize it's part of the connection you make with your fans. Isn't that what we're trying to do? That's why you sign autographs. That's why you do a lot of stuff."
So at a time when certain players are throwing chairs or bottles at fans, the curtain call is welcome opportunity to toss some respect the fans' way.
"Every team I talk to that it happens against, they're impressed by it," said Cards left fielder Reggie Sanders, who by virtue of being on seven teams in the past seven seasons knows people everywhere. "You hit a home run, make a great catch or get a timely hit, they're going to show you love. You can't put a stop on how much love you get. If they're going to give it, keep giving it."
