Padilla was clearly throwing at Byrd that night. The only problem that I had was that Padilla wasn’t the one getting pegged!

It was what I thought he’d say. No question now if there ever was one he’s not interested.

Full title – “The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime,” by Jason Turbow and Michael Duca.

I read it a couple of weeks ago, and, as the title indicates, it offers a fascinating inside look at the types of behavior considered acceptable or not by major leaguers based on interviews with current and former players (including Bob Brenley). It cites numerous examples of players getting drilled for no apparent reason, just like the incident where Padilla hit Byrd late in a 7-0 blowout. When that happens, it’s often in retaliation for something that occurred years earlier, sometimes even dating back to an incident that occurred when the players involved were in minors. Often, as with Padilla, the reason had its roots in something that happened off the field, in this instance the reason being the comments Byrd made about him being a negative influence after they’d been teammates on the Rangers. Apparently, that sort of thing happens quite often, so the next time you see something similar you can be almost certain there’s an interesting back story that the fans will never know about.

And according to the “code,” Andrew Cashner did exactly the right thing and instantly earned instant respect from his teammates. Conversely, If he hadn’t retaliated, he would have lost any respect he had already earned, and his lack of action would have been remembered with contempt by his teammates for the rest of his career and beyond. So, way to go Andrew!

http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Codes-Beanballs-Bench-Clearing-Unwritten/dp/0375424695/ref=sr_1_4/188-6977407-0214038?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279988051&sr=1-4