There’s a little unwritten rule in baseball about not showing up your opponents, so it makes sense that Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker was a little disappointed with his closing flame thrower of a closing pitcher after his antics, but then again, we’re clearly talking about a pitcher who still has a little bit of youth running through his veins, what with his impressive driving record since joining the Reds.
Of course, from Chapman’s point of view, after struggling in his last few outings, his youthful exuberance is a little more understandable, and after taking care of Division rivals the Milwaukee Brewers by nailing down the win with a strikeout, Chapman shared his joy with world by doing somersaults off of the pitcher’s mound. Video of the incident is a little harder to come by. ESPN has it, but because of Major League Baseball’s death-like grip on their content, there isn’t much on YouTube, save for a couple of videos taken with mobile phones:
Because it’s doubtful that video will make it through the day before it gets claimed by MLB, there’s naturally an animated gif of Chapman’s somersaults:
Because of baseball’s “rule” about not showing up your opponents, as you might imagine, reaction to Chapman’s floor routine was swift, including a statement from Baker:
“It’s been addressed,” an unsmiling Baker said. “It’s over with. It won’t happen again, ever.”
Which is exactly what you’d expect someone who’s been around baseball for the better part of his life to say. Cincinnati.com also collected some Twitter reactions (minus the embeds) after Chapman’s save was complete. Here, however, the outcry is not as loud as it probably was in the Reds and the Brewers locker rooms. Some examples:
@jonmorosi: Aroldis Chapman saves game, does double somersault toward Hanigan. Has anyone done this after a save? Ever? Little League?
@Kevin_Goheen: Some might not like Chapman’s 2x somersaults after #Reds win but I think it’s good to see him show a sigh of relief. Not showing up #Brewers
@inthewry: It’s okay to be happy, and it’s okay to act happy. Seriously.
@bgoldst: If Aroldis isn’t allowed to do somersaults anymore then I will do nonstop somersaults at home throughout every save opportunity. #Reds
As long as Cincinnati.com didn’t cheery-pick these quotes, as you can see, the “don’t show your opponent up” mentality applies much more to the players than it does the fans.
[Lead image via]