I am finding it increasingly harder to think of ways to teach my sons good sportsmanship, when you have pitchers like Cole Hamel who intentionally hits Nationals player, Bryce Harper in the back.  See for yourself in this Youtube clip from ESPN.

I respect the fact that Cole Hamels admitted that he hit him on purpose. I don’t however respect his reasoning which was to

I was trying to hit him,” the two-time All-Star lefty said Sunday night. “I’m not going to deny it. I’m not trying to injure the guy. They’re probably not going to like me for it, but I’m not going to say I wasn’t trying to do it. I think they understood the message, and they threw it right back. That’s the way, and I respect it.

You can read the rest of the article here from ESPN.  I have been thinking about this a lot lately, because when I was growing up, yes there was an understanding that the older guys would welcome the rookies, but they would not try to hurt them. And I am not saying that Cole Hamels was trying to hurt him, but he was not offering to buy him a steak dinner and teach him the way a Major League Baseball player should conduct themselves either. Fortunately, in this particular case, Harper was not hurt and honestly, neither was Hamels, because he got a 5 day suspension and does not even miss a start. Yes, a 5 DAY, not 5 start suspension, which is what they should be doing. Major League Baseball missed a real opportunity here to set an example and to do the right thing and they did not. do it.

If my kids were to hit another player on purpose, do you think that I would just sit them out for 5 days? Nope. That would be it for them for the year. Now, in saying that, they would have run after the game, done pick ups, etc. and they would still go to ever practice, but they would never step foot on the field for the remainder of the year. Why? Because it is not good sportsmanship to throw at another player and then get off with a slap on the wrist. We have to teach our children that there are consequences for their actions. Throw a baseball at another player, you are done for the year. Hit a kid in the arm, you are going to be punished.

Maybe Major League Baseball should ask some parents what they would do with their children in a situation like this?