Daily Madden: It's Time To End One Of Baseball's Unwritten Rules
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels is serving a five-day suspension after admitting he hit rookie Bryce Harper with a pitch on purpose. John Madden told the KCBS morning crew that it's time to end baseball's acceptance of purposely throwing at a batter as long as you don't admit it.
"I understand protecting the inside of the plate and making them honor that and all those kinds of things," Madden said. "But I think with the way sports are going today and concussions and all those things, that that's an unwritten rule... that probably should be taken out of baseball. There are certain times you have to throw at a guy, and I know they say they don't throw at the head, but dog gone it the head is pretty darn close to the shoulders."
Elsewhere in baseball, Madden said Josh Hamilton's four home run game to lead the Rangers' 10-3 victory over the Orioles Tuesday night was good for baseball in more ways than one.
"I hear people say 'why did they pitch to him, why didn't they just walk him after he hit two or three,'" Madden said. "I was glad to see that (the Orioles pitchers) didn't give up... Just because he hit some home runs doesn't mean you stop pitching... It's a game. You still have to play." (8:15)
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
