Unwritten rules are a fact of life, essential for civilized society, and for a functioning democracy. As not every contingency can be anticipated or legislated for, civilized society depends on practice of unwritten norms. Practice of rules of courtesy is the lubricant that fosters interpersonal relations.

An unintended consequence of technology is that it can change, and even upset, such norms. For example, it’s easier and generally less consequential to be rude over the internet and social media than in person. To some extent, responsible behavior can, and should, be legislated. But beyond that, a just and civilized society depends on individual acceptance and practice of norms, whether it’s in government, business, interpersonal relations, and even athletics.

Athletic games need well defined and enforced rules. Even with that intention, there are problems; for example, experts debate whether a catch in football is consistent with the written rules. Nevertheless, athletic games have unwritten rules as well.

Baseball, long heralded as “America’s pastime,” no doubt has the most elaborate subculture of unwritten rules, passed down through generations. Some of these unwritten “rules” are simply matters of strategy, and remain uncontroversial. Others relate to respect for teammates, opponents, umpires, and even for the game itself.

An example of a matter of strategy is the practice of the centerfielder having priority over balls that are hit in the gap between him and another outfielder. As the centerfielder is generally the speediest of the three, it makes sense that he has the widest range of coverage.

Some unwritten rules are designed to respect teammates. A pitcher should not express anger when a teammate makes an error. Nor should his teammates glower angrily when their pitcher gives up a home run.

Bordering on superstition, but strictly adhered to by teammates, is that when a pitcher is into the fifth inning or so with a no-hitter going, don’t speak to him for fear of jinxing him.

Another strategic rule, or principle, is to not make the first or third out at third base. If there are no outs, there is high chance that a runner at second base will advance to third base, even if only by a sacrifice. If there are already two outs, as the runner at second is in scoring position, he will be off and running with any ball contact, and with the pitch if the count is 3-2, and will score on a single. There is no need in either case to risk stealing third, which is hard to do.

An unwritten rule that is some combination of respect for the opponent and physical safety is to not steal bases when a team is either far behind or far ahead. If far behind, a stolen base in an attempt to “manufacture a run” is far short of what is needed, and not worth the risk. If far ahead, there is no need to steal a base that poses risk of injury. Cubs infielder, David Bote, just recently suffered a shoulder injury while stealing second base.

A time-honored unwritten rule for respecting your opponent and the umpire is to not walk in front of them when approaching the plate to bat. When a pitcher is warming up, a batter should not stand in the dirt near home plate.

While a batter may not like an umpire’s call, it’s unwise to make too much of it. With a 3-2 count, it is especially rude to assume that the following marginal pitch is a ball and start trotting to first base before the umpire calls it. It might have been a strike. And even if it was a ball, the umpire, not the batter, decides.

Another time-honored unwritten rule is that a batter who has just hit a home run should not stand there and admire it. Nor should he just casually trot around the bases, as that is seen as showboating and taunting the pitcher. Players are expected to hustle at all times, whether hitting a home run, or even to first base if it is a fly ball sure to be caught.

An unwritten rule is for a batter not to swing at the first pitch after a pitcher has given up back-to-back home runs. In such a case, the pitcher is clearly in trouble, and may soon be removed from the game anyway.

A similar rule is that a batter should not swing on a 3-0 count when his team is far ahead, especially during late innings when victory is certain. This recent violation made news when White Sox star, Yermin Mercedes, ignored manager Tony La Russa’s take sign, and smashed a home run when the Sox were already leading by eleven runs.

These rules have traditionally been enforced by players themselves. Pitchers who believe that a batter took too much time admiring a home run have been known to wait for years, if necessary, to retaliate by throwing at that batter the next time he faces him. With the recent Mercedes episode, it was the next game when the Twins pitcher threw one at Mercedes. As often happens with these episodes, this results in a bench-clearing brawl, and players ejected from the game.

Although the custom of throwing at a batter for retaliation has long been part of the game, there are unwritten rules even for this. Don’t throw at his head, and don’t throw behind him. The unwritten rule for the batter is not to touch or rub the spot where he was hit.

With pitchers throwing ever-faster fast balls, umpires are justifiably monitoring throwing at batters more closely.

These are but a few unwritten rules of baseball. With changing times and promotion of “excitement and razzle dazzle,” traditional unwritten rules, such as not flipping a bat, and not swinging on a 3-0 pitch, are increasingly seen, especially by younger players, fans, and sports writers, as “quaint,” and even “bad for baseball.” 

In any case, these unwritten rules make baseball more complex and interesting than realized by the casual observer. 

— John Waelti’s column appears every Saturday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.