Last night, Chris Archer and David Ortiz renewed their rivalry with an epic showdown that ended in a strikeout to end an inning.
After finishing off Ortiz, Archer bounded off the mound as he tends to do from time to time.
Mike Cole of NESN has a problem with this, calling Archer a hypocrite because he has criticized Ortiz in the past for acting bigger than the game.
“It might go without saying, but Archer comes off just a little bit hypocritical here. One year ago, Ortiz’s celebration — in arguably the slugger’s version of “having fun and playing a game” — was the mark of someone who thinks they’re bigger than the game, according to Archer. When Archer hops off the mound like a little kid and celebrates a fifth-inning strikeout in an April game, it’s just a guy having fun out there … This isn’t to say that baseball players can’t have fun. It’s baseball, it should be fun. But at the same time, Archer can’t have it both ways.”
I will admit that the line here is a little bit fuzzy, but I do think there is a line. I have no problem with Papi flipping bats and pointing to the sky. I agree that too many people try too hard to take the fun out of baseball because they have delicate sensibilities.
But the 30-minute rain delay trots around the bases are not a spontaneous acts of celebration. They are a gigantic LOOK-AT-ME more akin to an NFL player going to midfield after a touchdown and doing a 30-second choreographed dance while the other team is just standing there waiting for the extra point.
Want to celebrate? That’s fine. It is the rubbing in that makes Ortiz look like a jackass. And nobody likes a jackass unless they are helping your team win.
Cole goes on to say that Archer, “could be on his way to developing a reputation in baseball circles.”
This I agree with. For right or wrong, when you act different in baseball, it is going to draw the ire of other teams and other fans. It’s just the nature of the beast.
Archer also didn’t help himself when he kissed his bicep after striking out Daniel Nava back in 2013. I think even Big Tree would admit now that he shouldn’t have done that. Unfortunately for Archer, others won’t give him the benefit of the doubt for being young and naive at the time if he continues to be overly exuberant on the mound now.
In other words, don’t expect the Boston media to ease up on Archer anytime soon just like the rest of baseball is never going to ease up on Ortiz.
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4 Comments
If Archer stood there and admired the strikeout or stared down Ortiz, I could see an issue but he did what he should do and headed for the dugout. What Ortiz does is not him having fun, it's showing the other player up and drawing attention to himself. Add to that Ortiz' paranoia that everybody hates him and the umps and press are out to get him and you have a recipe for the type of Roid Rage we've seen from him many times through the years. He's not an iconic player or likely to be a hall of famer for these reasons and others.
I love the enthusiasm, emotion and excitement given to the game by Archer. Remember Mark "The Bird" Fidrych who would pat the mound and talk to it? These type guys bring a youthful vigor to the game. Archer has the look of a teenager anyway.
So long as he keeps throwing shut out innings, he can do cartwheels as far as I am concerned.
I enjoy the enthusiasm, especially at a time when the team felt like it needed a spark.
No different than pitchers doing their "victory lap" around the mound after every K.