is the only sport when at the end of a game, the players come out on to the filed, and instead of shaking hands/acknowledging the players on the opposing team, they shake hands/high five with the players on their own team? Does anyone else think this is a little ridiculous, a little silly? If all they're gonna do is congratulate themselves, why can't they go into the dugout or the locker room and do it? Why do they have to go out onto the field just to pat themselves on the back? In every other sport, the players acknowledge the other team after the game: hockey (especially hockey), football, basketball, tennis, golf. But not baseball. What gives?
Football, basketball and hockey players generally congratulate themselves on the field, court and rick after a win just as baseball players do. Baseball players also play the other team so many times (and generally 3 games per series), that the sport doesn't lend itself to the players from each team mingling after a game. All of the other sports are different in that respect.
Uhh...sportsmanship, maybe? They do it in other sports... Yes, but even if they do congratulate themselves, they don't congratulate themselves only. You almost always see at least a couple players from one team go over to greet players on the other team...but never in baseball. One thought I had was that since baseball is arguably less of a team sport than the other sports mentioned (tennis and golf notwithstanding), it's not often that the guys on a baseball team interact with one another, so when the game ends, they have to reinforce team unity. But this seems like a weak reason...
What bobrek was saying, though, is that in other sports, the players many times go to the same areas on the field when leaving it. In baseball, they always go out through the dugout, so it doesn't make much sense to leave the dugout to slap hands, then go right back.
Baseball is less of a physical sport than the others(NOTE: I am NOT saying baseball is not a physical sport. I admire the athletic ability inherent to baseball players). Football, basketball and hockey are very "knock down, drag out" types of events. You tend to relate more to your opponent after that type of exertion. In football you play each other only once or twice a year. The opportunities to fraternize are limited. In basketball and hockey you tend to have a lot of time between games with a particular opponent. Also in baseball, you generally go straight from the dugout to the locker room. This is generally true of hockey as well, so hockey would be the 2nd least "congratulatory" sport (although in college hockey they make a point to shake hands after a game or a series).
What about tennis? or golf? Then why not at least do it on the last game that they are scheduled to play each other? Really? I thought after hocket games each team lines up single file and shakes hands with each player on the other team. I'm not a baseball expert or fanatic, but I saw plenty of times last season where the 'Stros win and did NOT go straight to the locker room...hmmm...but then again, they always high five each other on the filed if the game ends when they are on defense, if I remember correctly. So maybe what you're saying is true, since one team always has to end the game on offense, where most of them are in the dugout...
One thing you guys haven't mentioned is how much time the players on opposing teams have to mingle with each other during batting practice and pre-game warm-ups.
Sorry, but I have never seen a bunch of golfers congratulating the winner after a match. I have seen playing partners shake hands after they are done, but how many times have you seen a slew of golfers go back to the course to congratulate the winner? The same holds true for tennis. Professional hockey players don't line up and shake hands after a game (at least during the regular season - they may do it after a playoff series). Note that I am talking about the NHL and not Olympic hockey. College hockey players will do it at least at the end of their 2 game series, if not after every game. With respect to baseball and heading to the locker room. I was talking about the losing team. They have direct access to the locker room from the dugout so there is no need to go back to the field to get there. For the most part, the winning team is on the field playing defense when the game is over. The players from the dugout simply run out to congratulate them after a game. In the case where the home team wins the game in their last at bat, the players rush to the field to congratulate the "hero" while the losing team dejectedly walks off. To answer your original question, I don't find it ridiculous or silly. Every sport I have ever been involved in has resulted in us "congratulating" ourselves after a victory. In high school basketball, we never (that I can remember) mingled with the other team directly after a game. In Little League, we would do some lame cheer, but we didn't go shake hands with the other team. It has been different in recreational sports. In soccer and softball we have made a point to shake hands with our opponents.
You are correct, however, fraternization before a game is actually against the rules but seldom, if ever, enforced. Here is a link for anyone who is skeptical of that existence of that rule: http://www.thebaseballpage.com/features/rules_umps.htm
I am not sure of the history, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was a repercussion of the old Black Sox scandal of 1919.
The following article can give you a good idea why baseball players don't shake hands after games with members of the opposing teams: Jays' manager rips Pedro's clubhouse visit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press TORONTO -- Buck Martinez has a message for Pedro Martinez: Stay out of my clubhouse. And the Toronto manager is displeased with any Blue Jays player who might have made the Red Sox pitcher welcome Wednesday night. When Pedro Martinez paid a brief, friendly visit to the Blue Jays locker room before Wednesday's game -- which was eventually postponed by rain -- at Fenway Park, he violated one of baseball's unwritten rules, according to the manager. "That's uncalled for," an angry Buck Martinez said before the Blue Jays' home opener on Thursday. "I don't understand the mentality of a player being in another player's locker room. However, there were extenuating circumstances explaining why Martinez was in the Blue Jays' clubhouse. Due to safety concerns, Pedro was quickly escorted through the "enemy" clubhouse after greeting fans as part of a Fenway Park promotion before the game. There were a lot of fans in the path to the Red Sox clubhouse, and security officials decided to take all possible precautions and use the alternate route. Martinez stayed 1-2 minutes in the Jays' clubhouse -- according to Boston Globe columnist Jackie MacMullan -- and talked briefly to a couple of Blue Jays' players before leaving. It is not known whether the Blue Jays' manager was aware of the circumstances. But if so, he didn't let on in his comments Thursday. "If I was Shannon Stewart, I've got to think of taking a pop at him or something." In Monday's opener, the Boston ace hit Stewart with a pitch. "He had just drilled (Stewart) in the back," Buck Martinez said, his voice rising. "And your teammates welcome him into the clubhouse?" Asked whether he'd seen Pedro Martinez in the Toronto clubhouse, Stewart shook his head, then turned to Carlos Delgado and said, "Was Pedro in our clubhouse?" Delgado nodded. But the Blue Jays' slugger spoke cautiously when asked about the protocol his manager had mentioned. Is such a visit appropriate? "No, it isn't," Delgado said. Would he visit opponents in their clubhouse? "I can't think of a reason why I'd go there," Delgado replied, adding he wouldn't answer any more questions on the topic. Toronto closer Kelvim Escobar, a longtime friend of Pedro Martinez, said the Boston ace seemed headed for another destination when he came upon the open clubhouse door before the rain delay. He wandered in, said hello to several Blue Jays and left after a few minutes. "I don't think it's a good idea," Escobar said. Camaraderie between opponents can undermine a player's competitive edge, the manager said. Buck Martinez said he doesn't even approve of the common practice of opposing players greeting each other with hugs and handshakes before games. "When you get out there and you're supposed to spike a guy at second base or knock a guy down at home, it's like, 'Geez, I just said hi to that guy,"' he said. "I know it's a different era," he said. "I know a lot of players have the same agents. I know they go to dinner from time to time. But to walk into another clubhouse in full uniform is ridiculous." Baseball has always prided itself on tradition and "unwritten" rules like not visiting opposing team's clubhouse in full uniform, so I would say it is the mindset of why you won't be seeing players shaking hands with their opponents after games. Guess they feel it would undermine that "competitive edge."
