Two flips equal one debate

Archbishop Mitty's Waylon Walsh recently hit a seventh-inning home run that spurred the Monarchs' come-from-behind victory at Riordan. Seven days later, Hillsdale's Jake Belloni duplicated the feat in beating Carlmont.

Each home run featured a post-swing bat flip.

Walsh stood at the plate, watched the ball sail over the right-field fence and turned toward the first base dugout as he moved to first base and his teammates celebrated. He then vehemently threw the bat to the ground, maybe a little more demonstrative than he usually is, he admitted, but it was an emotional moment. A game winner. And he sprinted around the bases, eager to celebrate with his teammates.

As Belloni watched his long flyball, also a game winner, sail over the right-field fence, he, too, turned toward his dugout – this time on the third-base side – and tossed the bat about 15 feet into the air as he began circling the bases in a glacial trot.

Is it possible to condone one while condemning the other?

Probably not.

Clearly, one celebration was far more robust. Belloni's bat toss pissed off a lot of people. He later said it was a response to Carlmont walking off the Knights two days earlier. We're not entirely comfortable with it, but baseball is becoming a far more emotional game than it was, say, 20 years ago and this might be something we need to get used to.

Baseball has always been a very delicate sport with thousands of unwritten rules, dos and don'ts for how to conduct oneself, and self-policing for those who get out of line. The game's international influx has changed the big-league game, and a lot of the behavior has trickled down to the youth and high school levels.

We've noticed. And there are plenty of things we like about a game with more outward emotion. We revel in Nate Hui's euphoria when he gets Serra out of a second-and-third jam with a big strikeout. We feel the accomplishment of a dugout celebrating a run being scored.

We love it. Loud dugout banter is always welcomed. Watch Mitty's "two" chant that it uses when the scoreboard shows there are two balls, two strikes and two outs. Its clever, fun and unique. We live for the big-game excitement. We smile when players celebrate after hits by looking toward their dugouts. And there's something special about team prayers before and after games. They provide unity and remind us that there's someone or something higher than us controlling our destiny.

Those are the things that make high school baseball special around here. Who can't love that? The answer to that is sadly simple: Everyone who is rooting for the other team. For every celebration comes a little heartache – and too often hurt feelings.

In a game determined by hitting, catching and throwing the ball, the feelings and emotions by both teams, umpires and, yes, fans and parents too often come into play and can sometimes turn a game into a shit show.

To the parents reading this, your job is to support your children. Your privilege is to watch them excel in a game that is truly hard to play. Cheer the good stuff. And bite your tongue for everything else.

To the umpires reading this, we understand your job is hard. Legislating a game that has always come with its share of banter and bench jockeying is nearly impossible. Make your job easier by covering your rabbit ears. Passing judgment on every word uttered will only frustrate you. Control what you're capable of controlling.

Since the season started in late February, we've chronicled hundreds of games and have been to dozens. We have seen enough baseball to gauge the pulse and to form opinions about teams, players and programs.

What we've noticed is the baseball is pretty good and usually competitive. Competitive games feature more tension and plenty more emotion. That's not a bad thing. But as the as the competition becomes more intense, there's the potential for sportsmanship to take a backseat.

We're not asking these kids to be robots. We like the emotion, but where do we draw the line between showing emotion and showing up an opponent?

Is it bad form for players to get loud on a foul ball near the dugout? That happened two weeks ago when Serra was called for bench interference after a foul ball fell between two Bellarmine players near the Padres' first-base dugout.

They were too loud and yelling for the ball was considered by the umpires to be a distraction. Maybe it crossed a new modern-day line that would have been scoffed at a couple of decades back. Maybe it's a kinder and gentler game – and world.

Dugout banter is a necessary part of the game. It should be high-energy – the more creative the better, but it should never be directed toward the other team or an opponent. Shoving it in the other team's collective face has no place in the game.

When the Riordan dugout spent an early-March game verbally wondering whether Sacred Heart Prep junior Rallin Covey is worthy of being a Southern California commit, it crossed the line by making it personal. It was bad behavior that left a lot of hard feelings in its wake.

We've built solid relationships with most of the coaches on the Peninsula and respect the way they run their programs through the ebbs and flows of a high school season. They get it. Most of them know that winning ballgames is important but preparing young men for life – most often life without baseball – is far more important.

Twenty years from now, Jake Belloni will have a life memory – something to tell his kids about – when he relives the details of his late-game home run. Will it be a story he's proud to tell? Or will it be more remembered for his bat flying 15 feet in the air?

If that bat flip were the only lasting impression, that would be a shame.

-- Mike and Pat Sangimino