Ethical Ranks

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Rank Baseball's Ethical Scenarios

Want to play the "Baseball Ethics" game? Two randomly selected actual ethical incidents from baseball's storied history are listed below. Please tell us which one you consider to be "worse." In other words, select the one you think is less ethical than the other. This exercise originally ran in August, 2008. After 35,000 votes, we compiled the results in this article.

This material was developed for an American Studies course at Carleton College. You can read about it in this article. The entire bibliography of sources is on this page.

Here are your first two choices. Select the less ethical one and you'll be given the opportunity to make even more choices. Thanks for helping.

1. Hip check

In the 1890s, Tommy Tucker used what ice hockey players now call a "hip check" to push runners off first base. He would then quickly tag them out before the ump could figure out why the runner was no longer standing safely at first. This move has withstood the test of time, although today's pushy fielders must additionally worry about being caught by the myriad of television cameras at the ballpark.

Consider the actions of Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek in the second game of the 1991 World Series. According to one published report, Hrbek "used an elegant maneuver involving his hip, thigh and glove to get sufficient leverage to pull (Ron) Gant off, making it appear to the ump behind him that Gant's momentum carried him off but making his intentions obvious to the viewers who got a perfect angle from the third base camera line." The umpire in question, Vic McMahon, called Gant out. There are many other examples in which a fielder attempted to manhandle a runner off the safety of the base. (Zumsteg, p. 8; Fuller, Page 2; Scheinin, p. 63)

2. Decoding

Sometimes, a team will use nothing more than their naked eyes and their intellect to steal signs. This is legal; today, only sign stealing by electric means is banned. Batters on second base will try to figure out if the catcher is setting up inside or outside, and subtly signal the batter as to pitch location. Pete Rose was known to be particularly adept at this art. Some first- and third-base coaches have developed reputations for being able to steal the catcher's signs as well.

Of course, some pitchers "tip" their pitches and a clever opponent can figure out this "tell" and benefit from it. Some players and coaches are quite skillful at stealing signs relayed by the coaches or manager. It can be very useful to know if a steal is coming, or the hit-and-run is on, or a suicide squeeze is planned. It is up to the team to use signs that cannot be decoded by eagle-eyed opponents. Explains Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, "The fault is not with the people stealing the signs, but the people giving them." Among players and coaches with well-deserved reputations for being able to decode other teams' signs or reading pitchers: Paul Molitor, Charlie Dressen, Joe Nossek, Bob Turley and Joe Amalfitano. (Dickson, pp. 21-22, 85, 131; Collier; Wulf)