Kuzul

The 1968 season pitched by St. Louis Cardinal’s ace Bob Gibson (22-9 , 1.12 ERA, 268 strikeouts, 0.853 WHIP, Cy Young, and MVP)  is the standard of supremacy that every pitcher aspires to match. (Where was Gibson’s run support that caused him to lose nine games with that earned run average?!?! )

Since Gibson’s remarkable season forty-two years ago, Major League Baseball has seen superb seasons by Dwight Gooden (1985 <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> —1.51 ERA), Greg Maddux (1994 <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> —1.56 ERA, 1995 <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> —1.63 ERA), Nolan Ryan (1981 <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> —1.69 ERA), and Pedro Martinez (2000 <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> —1.74 ERA), but in the “power” era of baseball, no hurler has matched the historic precedent set by Gibson.

And yet, through fifty games in the 2010 baseball season, we have NEVER seen a pitcher display the dominance that Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez has shown in eleven starts.

This season, Jimenez, the front runner for the Cy Young award in the National League, has already thrown a no-hitter (the first in Rockies history), won NL pitcher of the month for April and May, and is the third player in Major League Baseball history to win ten of his first eleven games, while having an ERA under 1.00.

Somehow Jimenez and his 10-1 record, 70 strikeouts, 0.90 WHIP, and sparkling 0.78 ERA have flown under the radar from significant baseball press coverage.

We have been so caught up in the hype of Stephen Strasburg (whose Triple A starts have garnered more attention than Jimenez’s Major League outings), the perfect games by Roy Halladay and Dallas Braden , and the controversial one-hitter by Armando Galarraga that we have overlooked the consistent ungodly numbers that Jimenez has put together so far.

Last season , the 26 year-old from the Dominican Republic, showed he had the stuff to be an elite pitcher in the majors when he posted 15 wins, 198 strikeouts, and a 3.47 ERA in his second full season with the Rockies.

However, if you told a Rockies fan on Opening Day what his current season statistics would be, they would say you went on the free Coors Tour one too many times.

More amazing than the way Jimenez has pitched, is where he has pitched.

At Coors Field , where the altitude  is known to turn the effects of three beers into that of five, and ERAs from 3.00  to 5.00, Jimenez is 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA.

Today, the Rockies will face the Diamondbacks in Arizona with the thrilling Jimenez (he often hits 100 MPH on the radar) on the mound.

While most of the baseball nation counts down to Strasburg’s debut on Tuesday, on Sunday we will overlook a 6-1 road record and 0.52 ERA from somebody that is  ALREADY special and in the early stages of a historical season unmatched by even Bob Gibson.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I woke up this morning and decided to make a change. Not the kind of change that would make my parents proud like getting a paying job or removing myself from their payroll, but more of a change that affects only me.

I expect to get a lot of well-deserved criticism from my father and friends for switching my MLB fan allegiance from the Chicago Cubs to the Washington Nationals at this point in my life.

Born and raised in Indianapolis, I inherited a passion for the Cubs from my father, who grew-up in Northwest Indiana.

Since Indiana’s professional baseball team consisted of the Triple-A Indians, it was acceptable to like a team from another state, so I gravitated toward my dad’s lifelong tea, the Cubs.

My earliest memories of the franchise were attending games at Wrigley Field in the 1990s when they had players like Sammy Sosa, Rick Wilkins, Randy Myers, and Shawon Dunston .

The Cubs peaked my interest in 2003 when Mark Prior and Kerry Wood pitched the team through a post-season run. They would have made it to the World Series if not for a certain team collapse blamed on a  geeky looking spectator.

After that season, the franchise and my baseball rooting interest would never be the same.

When I stopped playing baseball and left for college my passion for baseball greatly diminished.

Like most of the country, I fell into the large net cast by college and professional football, turned off by the constant talk of steroids in baseball.

I could argue the NFL benefited most in fan interest during the 2000s, a time in which Major League Baseball and steroids were a hot topic.

See how the Brian Cushing steroids controversy was dealt with so quickly? The media wanted nothing to do with revoking his rookie of the year award that would open a can of worms in the process.

The NFL saw the negative impact that steroids “accusations” had on the MLB and wanted to distance themselves from that type of media circus.

Meanwhile, I still paid attention to baseball even at a distance. I have attended about eleven or twelve Kansas City Royals games at Kauffman Stadium over the last five years, which is a hell of a time with drunk fraternity brothers on dollar night, if you can imagine.

However, I have found it hard to pay attention during an entire MLB game on TV, even with my concentration meds. I usually give up in the fourth inning and catch the highlights and scores the next day.

I would still follow the Cubs and watch part of the games on WGN when I could, but I began to lose interest in the players and particularly the team management.

Alfonso Soriano was overpaid, Wood and Prior were always hurt, Lou Piniella was always making poor managerial decisions, GM Jim Hendry kept on signing over-the-hill bums, and team ownership was a mess (to put it nicely).

Since starting Man Cave Sports, I decided it was important to start following baseball more closely in order to better reach our audience.

I followed the Cubs at the beginning of this year, but I saw no improvements.

Piniella and Hendry are still there, the Ricketts and their new ownership haven’t done anything impressive (partly because they overpaid for the franchise and have little money to acquire new players or make improvements).

The Cubs still do not have a lot of likable guys on their roster. I’m not saying guys like Ryan Theriot, Derrick Lee, and Aramis Ramirez are bad guys, but they don’t have engaging or enigmatic personalities the way Ryne Sandberg, Wood, or Sosa had.

I woke up today and decided I was done waiting for the Cubs to make a change and that I needed to make the move myself.

“Bandwagon” fans are one of my biggest pet peeves. I can’t stand the “fans” that like the Yankees, Lakers, Cowboys, Florida Gators, North Carolina Tar Heels and live in Illinois.

Or the “fairweather” fans that like the local team when they are good, but lose interest when they suck.

Indianapolis is pretty heavy in these types of fans (Indiana Pacers the last six years and Butler Bulldogs this year) .

I kid you not, we went to high school (in Indianapolis) with a guy that looked and acted like “Rain Man” , liked a girl named Alyssa, the Lakers, Miami Hurricanes, USC Trojans, Indianapolis Colts, and which ever baseball team was good that year i.e 2002 Angels and 2003 Marlins. For the record, he went to Purdue for college.

And here I am on May 23, 2010 violating one of my Ten Commandments of being a sports fan and for that I have sinned.

My official Nationals interest began on May 16th when pitcher Drew Storen , a longtime neighbor and friend, was promoted to the roster as a reliever.

Storen, Washington’s other 2009 first round draft pick not named Stephen Strasburg , blew through the minors the past two seasons with a 1.68 ERA before being called up.

In his first appearance at St. Louis, he struck out Matt Holliday in a bases loaded situation, with Albert Pujols on deck.

Today in his first at bat since high school, Storen picked up a hit off Kevin Millwood and pitched one and two-thirds scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 2.25 in four appearances.

The Nationals won the game in extra innings after Josh Willingham hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to beat the Orioles and improve the Nats’ record to 23-22.

Since 2005, when the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals, the franchise has been in the cellar of the National League East, and Baseball America ranked the farm system among the worst in the league.

Give credit to principal owner Ted Lerner for his investment in the city and hiring/firing the right people to put baseball on the map in our Nation’s Capital.

In 2008, the Nationals moved into brand new Nationals Park , a beautiful $611 million park that seats 42,000.

The 2009  hirings  of GM Mike Rizzo and Manager Jim Riggleman have greatly improved a team coming off back to back 59 win seasons.

Through the draft, free agents, and trades they have put together a competitive team in the National League RIGHT NOW and have yet to even call up Strasburg. If he’s as good as billed this year, add another 10 wins to the Nats season and their first playoff berth in Washington is not out of the question.

As I finish writing this, I just saw on the news that an SUV crashed through a strip club on the south side.

My dad isn’t home right now, so I hope he hasn’t received word that I will be turning my Cubs hat into Goodwill tomorrow, and in a drunken rage, crashed the car through the Sunday night steak buffet at Club Zeus .

This can’t be considered a huge “bandwagon” jump yet. The Nationals are only one game above .500, but I like their front office and the way they have shown dedication to improving the franchise.

It also doesn’t hurt I know one of their players.

From here on out, it is the Washington Nationals for me. This is a one time thing and I won’t switch back to the Cubs, even if they miraculously get good.

Now I just have to deliver the heart breaking news to my dad, change a few “interests” on Facebook, and buy a Nationals hat and I am good to go.

Oh, and deal with the “hypocrite” and “bandwagon” insults (that I deserve) coming my way.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Written by Max Lush and Hunter McDowell

Give us credit. If you followed Man Cave Sports on Facebook or Twitter, you would have already known about Dallas Braden.

We wrote a feature article this week on Braden and how he could break out at any moment. I suggest you get on the ball if you haven’t heard about Man Cave Sports yet.

For just the nineteenth time in MLB history, a perfect game was thrown Sunday, or better known as Mother’s Day.

Dallas Braden , you know that  pitcher on the A’s with a handful of wins ?  Well, he just threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the team with the best record, not bad for just his eighteenth win in the majors.

If you’re like me, and the rest of Man Cave Sports , Braden became a hero after his run-in with Alex Rodriguez , who as far as I can tell, isn’t liked by anyone outside of the Pin Stripe faithful.

When A-Rod was notified about the feat he said, ”I’ve learned in my career, it is much better to be recognized for all the great things you do on the field,” Rodriguez said. “Good for him, he threw a perfect game. And better yet, he beat the Rays, but  no more about him, please.”

No more about him, please? It sounds like Rodriguez may soon have nightmares about Braden.

It was impressive that a guy with just “a handful of wins” believes in himself, and the unwritten rules of baseball enough to exchange words with one of the game’s best.

Braden’s grandmother was quoted as saying “Stick it, A-Rod.” Happy Mother’s Day to her too!

If his continued rants about the issue have showed us anything, it is that Braden is an extremely confident pitcher, but he’s confident not the same way that A-rod is, where it comes off as smug.  He believes in himself, and more than anything wants to see his team succeed before he does.

While some may find his confidence annoying, and ask why he continues to talk about the A-rod fiasco, maybe it will make more sense when you see that ESPN doesn’t mention his chance at a perfect game until the 8th inning had rolled around.  If that was a pitcher on the Yankees or Red Sox, ESPN would have that as front page news after the 5th inning.

What’s more surprising is that Braden still hasn’t earned recognition amongst the media.  Fox Sports’ website ran this headline “A-Rod’s nemesis has perfect game through seven-innings.”  It just shows that a small-market team like the A’s doesn’t get as much respect as the Yankees or Sox do.

And the poor Rays, perfect gamed twice in less than a year’s time .  They really do not like left-handed pitchers who work fast.  What’s more surprising is that both Buehrle’s and Braden’s perfect games happened with back-up catchers, as Kurt Suzuki is on the DL for the A’s.

Although, Landon Powell and Braden have a strong history together.  “We were drafted the same year, he was one of the first guys I caught in pro-ball,” Powell said after the game.

In order for a perfect game to be even remotely possible, the pitcher and catcher must be working in unison, and both players need to completely believe in each other.  “He was putting the right fingers down every time, ” Braden said of Powell.  “It’s not like we’re strangers.”

Still, what is so surprising is that this happened to the Rays, again.  The Rays have scored 174 runs this season, the second-best mark in the majors.  Their line-up comes at opposing pitchers with speed and power throughout, putting a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.  “None of those guys over there are easy outs,” Braden said of the Rays.

After a long hug with his grandmother by the dug-out, Braden did an interview with the A’s television broadcasters saying, “You ain’t got nothing to say, it was perfect,” while smiling.  Those that follow the A’s love Braden’s personality and the fire he brings to the clubhouse.

Most importantly, in a moment that is mostly about Braden, he put the spot light on those around him.  “It feels pretty cool, this is without a doubt a team effort,” Braden said.  “This is ours, not mine, this ours.”

This sums up everything there is to love about Braden.  This is about you Braden, whether you know it or not.  You are the 19th person in Major League history to accomplish what you just accomplished.  Not even Nolan Ryan threw a perfect game.  You’re the first A’s player since the great Catfish Hunter in 1968.  These things do not happen often.

This was his first promotion of “209″ day for his hometown of Stockton, Calif., it was mother’s day, it was Braden’s day.  He worked inside with his fastball, he worked outside with his change-up, and he never let a single Rays’ player get on base.

It’s weird how rare feats like this work out, where people often say that “the stars aligned,” because there is no feasible explanation as to why something so unfeasible could occur.

This is a moment that I will remember watching for the rest of my life.  And I can imagine that it’s a moment A-Rod may wish never happened, because he will forever be linked to Dallas Braden.  Maybe next time, A-Rod will think before stepping into Bradenia.

Braden may go on to have just an average season, maybe even a career, but the legend that is Dallas Braden will become a hero to many children in the Bay Area, and to the many “Davids” of the world who want to find the strength to slay Goliath.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Editor’s Note: A few hours after this article was published, Dallas Braden threw a perfect game, the 19th in Major League Baseball history. You can read the “The Legend of Dallas Braden here here

Give Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden and his seventeen career MLB wins credit for standing up to Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees.

Prior to a late April afternoon game between the Yankees and Athletics, only a few people outside of Oakland had ever heard of Braden and only a few people that live under a rock had ever NOT heard of A-Rod.

Braden is from Stockton, California (or what he calls the “209″) and played his collegiate ball at Texas Tech before being drafted in 2004 by the Oakland Athletics as a 24th round selection.

His 2010 salary is $420,000, or roughly what A Rod spent on his previous steroid injections per year.

Most of you know the story on Rodriguez and his $33,000,000 salary.

The 12 All-Star selections, the three MVPs, 585 career Home Runs, 2009 World Series Champion, etc.

Braden, Rodriguez and their polar opposite baseball resumes and social statuses collided incredulously on April 22, 2010.

With A-Rod at first, Robinson Cano fouled off a Braden pitch that set Rodriguez in motion on the base path towards second base.

On his way back to first, a self-described “tired” Rodriguez took the shortest path available, across the pitcher’s mound. The 27-year-old pitcher ended the inning and his evening by pitching into a double play, but not leaving the field until he made one final statement.

As Braden made his way toward the showers, he angrily threw his glove toward the dug out and began yelling at a smirking Rodriguez. At the time, most of the fans and announcers were unsure of the hostility shown by the departing pitcher.

Only during a post-game interview would it be clear why Braden was upset with Rodriguez.

“The Yankees are an extremely classy organization with guys who always tend to do the right thing every time; it’s kind of disheartening to see that not show through or be reflected by somebody of (Rodriguez’s) status,” Braden said after the game.

“He’s a tremendous player and a tremendous talent, and I don’t care if I’m Cy Young or the 25th man on a roster; if I’ve got the ball in my hand and I’m out there on that mound, that’s not your mound. You want to run across the mound? Go run laps in the bullpen. That’s my mound,” Braden added.

“We’re not the doormat (Athletics) anymore. Maybe it doesn’t come across his mind to do that to the Oakland A’s, but maybe it does enter his mind to not do it against the Boston Red Sox or to not do it against another team. It didn’t even enter his mind, so I aided him with that,” he concluded.

“I didn’t know he was talking to me, to be honest with you,” Rodriguez said.

“I thought it was pretty funny, actually. He told me to get off his mound, I didn’t know what he was talking about. I thought it was kind of funny, actually. I had never quite heard that before, especially from a guy who has a handful of wins in his career,” he added.

Braden warned there would be “repercussions” during the next meeting between the Yankees and Athletics beginning July 5.

The baseball media enjoyed the sound bites for a few days, but as most stories that involve verbal altercations go, it quickly lost steam as the A’s were not deemed a suitable foe for the Yanks.

Had the on-field altercation taken place between the Red Sox and Yankees, you can bet this would have been a running theme for the 2010 American League season.

Unable to control himself until a post fourth of July firework show, Braden once again spouted off this week with his displeasure for Rodriguez.

“There are things that are going to have to happen,” Braden told CSN Bay Area on Wednesday.

“Out of respect to my teammates, out of respect to the game. I think he’s probably garnered a new respect for the unwritten rules and the people who hold them close to their game. But I think you’re right, we don’t do much talking in the 209,” he said.

“I was always told if you give a fool enough rope, he’ll hang himself, and with those comments, he had all the rope he needed. I didn’t know there was a criteria in order to compete against A-Rod.”

Rodriguez also is a selfish player, Braden added.

“He’s an individualistic player,” Braden told CSN Bay Area. “He plays for the name on the back of the jersey, not the front. I don’t know if he’s noticed, but he doesn’t have a name on the back over there so he should play for the name on the front.”

Rodriguez attempted to refrain from answering more questions regarding Braden’s recent rant, but he was unable to completely hold back and offered a few jabs of his own.

“I think Major League Baseball reads the same articles as we do,” Rodriguez said. “Now, look, I really don’t want to extend his extra 15 minutes of fame.”

“Look, it is tempting to sit back here and go back and forth with the media for the next three months, but I’m not going to do that,” he concluded.

Like good teammates should, other Yankees stepped up to the plate in Rodriguez’s defense.

“He’s a clown,” CC Sabathia said of Braden. “Guy says he’s from the 209, what the [bleep] is that? That’s where I’m from and I don’t know what he’s talking about. Two-oh-nine. He needs to just calm down—put that in the paper. That’s just tired.”

“I don’t know why he keeps bringing it up,” said Derek Jeter . “Go ask him, because I have no idea why he’s talking about it again.”

“Braden is wrong and Alex is right,” said general manager Brian Cashman . “The more Dallas talks about it, the sillier he looks.”

In most circumstances it is understandable for a GM to defend his players, but for Cashman to say “Alex is right” is a misinformed statement.

Let’s say Mr. Yankee, Derek Jeter had been the one to cut across the pitcher’s mound on his way back to first base. I guarantee he would not have received the same ire from Braden. The pitcher may have given No. 2 a noticeable glance, but he would have never caused the scene that followed during or after the game.

Based off Jeter’s reputation as a good guy, his action would have been viewed as the exception rather than the rule.

However in Rodriguez’s case, this isn’t the first time he has disgraced the game of baseball or it’s written and unwritten code.

The definition of “bush league.”

In 2004, “Umpires called Yankees star Alex Rodriguez out for interference after he swatted Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s glove while running out a grounder in game six of the AL Championship Series. If allowed to stand, the play would have meant the Yankees had cut the Red Sox lead to 4-3 with one out in the eighth inning and A-Rod on second base,” according to the USA Today .

During a May, 2007 game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Rodriguez was running past third baseman Howie Clark during a routine infield pop-up and called out “mine!” as he was preparing to make the catch. The distraction caused Clark to bobble the ball and was once again viewed as a “bush league” play by A-Rod.

In February of 2009, Rodriguez finally came clean and admitted to using Performance Enhancing Drugs during his time with the Texas Rangers.

Those were just a few of the incidents with Rodriguez over the years, not to mention the divorce from his wife for allegedly having repeated extra-marital affairs.

Give Braden props for finally saying what many fans and other players around the league have wanted to say for years. He was able to take advantage of his fifteen minutes of fame to blast someone who has little respect for the game of baseball.

Even pitchers who did not pitch at the major league level have an opinion on the matter.

“To be perfectly honest, if I were pitching and a hitter ran over the mound after a foul ball, I would have thrown at him next at bat. That’s how I would have handled it,” said former Butler Bulldogs pitcher Jon Dages.

Perhaps the latest rant by Braden was to get back in the newspapers before the early July series against the Yankees, but I at least found it mildly entertaining.

I haven’t seen a rant like this in Oakland since Thomas Bruso or better known to the viral community “Epic Beard Man.”

Now if we could just get Braden to use some of those “Tommy Slick” quotes before the next Yankees/Athletics showdown, we will have a highly anticipated series:

“All this attention is a little overwhelming, I was just doing whats right”

“It’s better to be pissed off than pissed on!”

“You better be pissed off, cuz you ain’t scared of this white boy.”

“Those brothers tried to rob me three times already in Oakland”

“I was happy to ride in the front of the squad car, rather than the back!”

Braden is a talented pitcher that is just now entering his prime with the A’s. Last year he posted an acceptable 3.89 ERA, but with low win totals  playing in Oakland.

Braden is one of those fun pitchers to watch because he has the ability to throw a complete game shutout and you never know what he will do or say in the process.

If Braden were playing on a big market team, he would be the promotional fan package to fans on every fifth day. As it stands now, his sound bytes far exceed his MLB resume.

For his sake and the sake of argument, let’s hope this man puts together some great outings before July 5th to make the Oakland and New York series that much more intriguing.

Plus, Braden has the potential to be a great pitcher and an Ozzie Guillen type sound byte.

And watching Alex Rodriguez put his foot in his mouth again wouldn’t be such a crying shame either.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Wayne Consalvi was more than likely in his Man Cave on Monday night, after a long day at work. He felt relaxed, he was home alone, and his wife now had a different last name.

He popped open a few beers and watched his beloved Philadelphia Phillies take on the St. Louis Cardinals.

The first beer was a congratulatory one for himself, the next pilsner, was a cheers for his son Steve.

By his own account Steve is, “a real good student, heading to Penn State,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Steve Consalvi , a 17-year-old high school senior, went to Citizen’s Bank Park on Monday to celebrate the end of an era with his friends.

The evening was supposed to be a joyous occasion as they went to see their Philadelphia Phillies on a school night.

The minors were winding down their high school days and preparing for the, “next step,” by loading up on underage favorites Pepsi and cotton candy.

In the top of the eighth inning, Wayne started to doze off in his Laz -Y-Boy recliner, when suddenly the, “Shots, Shots, Shots,” ring tone blared from his cell phone.

He glanced down to see the caller ID read “Stevie” and Wayne instantly grew concerned.

“Hello,” he said. No answer, but he could hear screaming in the background and he knew his son was still at the baseball game. 

“Hello?” he said again, but this time raising his voice in the form of a question.

Again, no answer. Wayne started to hang up the phone, when he heard Steve say “Dad!”

“Ya?” he answered.

“Dad, can I run on the field?” Steve asked. Caught off guard by the absurd question Wayne answered, “I don’t think you should, son.”

“This would be a once in a lifetime experience!” Steve said.

Before Wayne could respond, the phone went dead. Certain that this was his son pulling his leg, he resumed watching the Phillies game, only this time more intently.

What he saw in the bottom of the eighth inning baffled Wayne.

According to the Associated Press, “The fan, wearing a baseball cap, red T-shirt and khaki shorts, hopped a fence and scurried around the outfield, eluding two security officers in the bottom of the eighth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. One officer used a Taser and the fan went down in a heap. Several Phillies placed gloves over their faces and appeared to be stifling laughter at the wild scene.”

Wayne was impressed by the Barry Sanders —like moves his son put on Paul Blart , but he knew he would have to immediately go to Chuck’s Bail Bonds.

The next day, apologies flowed freely from Steve and his family, while media across the country questioned whether or not the kid should have been tased.

Steve’s mother Amy Ziegler, reiterated her son was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and apologized for his actions saying he regrets running onto the field.

“It was stupid. It was just absolutely stupid,” she told WTXF-TV.

“I don’t recommend running on the field, but I don’t think they should have tased him at all,” Wayne told the newspaper.

“How long can he really run around out there?” said Mary Catherine Roper , an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in Philadelphia,

“In this situation, he’s not dangerous, he’s not getting away,” she said.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell called the incident “a big mistake.”

“There’s no need to use Tasers on fans who run on the field,” the former Philadelphia mayor told WCAU-TV. “We should just have enough personnel out there to surround them, take them off the field and put them in jail.”

Other people had different opinions of the force used by the police officer.

“If you’re on the streets running away from a cop, doesn’t that cop have a right to Tase you because you’re fleeing from a cop? So what’s the difference,” Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino said.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa agreed as well. ”If somebody comes up there and does some damage, they’re going to be second-guessing not doing anything,” La Russa said. “I just think it’s acceptable, because it’s a good deterrent.”

“Don’t like being Tased? How bout don’t run onto the field. 44,817 people were at that game. 44,816 stayed in their seats. Dummy!” said ESPN’s Michael Smith.

I don’t think La Russa has a valid argument on this one. Would he have had a different answer if he was passed out drunk in his SUV and was tasered?

In the cop’s defense, I don’t blame him for tasing the kid. I wouldn’t want a national audience to know I failed the Wii Sports physical exam.

However, running onto the field of play at any sports venue is dangerous to the players and fans.

In 2002, Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa was attacked by a father/son tag team in a game against the White Sox.

“I felt like a football team had hit me from behind. Next thing I knew, I’m on the ground trying to defend myself,” Gamboa said, suffering minor injuries in the attack.

Luckily, that type of attack during a game are few and far between. Most of the fans that run onto the field are drunks seeking their 15 minutes of fame. And most of the time it ends being tackled by a security guard, player, or mascot (you will get to see that shortly.)

In Steve’s case, this was a 17-year-old kid running around aimlessly, seeking what he called “a once in a lifetime experience” and was tased in the process by an overzealous, out of shape rent-a-cop.

Whatever floats your boat kid.

Should he have been tased? No. Was it funny as hell? YES.

I can see the irritability and safety concerns fan interference causes for players and security personnel.

But as a spectator, these videos are always fun to watch on Youtube as long as no one else gets hurt, and the clothed streaker accepts the inevitable arrest or beat down by a player on the field.

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