NCAA Takes The Fun Out Of the Game

Here's the latest in a long, long list of NCAA curious decisions.

No more HR celebrations at home plate and no dog piles!

Rule 5-2C and 5-2D...
For the purpose of celebration, players are not allowed out of the dug-out on a live ball or dead ball that does not end an inning. This would include after a home run or during a pitching change. Recommended increased emphasis in penalizing for orchestrated dug-out actions designed to distract or intimidate opposing teams under the unsportsmanlike conduct violations.

We aren't making this stuff up folks. The NCAA keeps on giving us new material and we will continue to write about it. This ruling is senseless and pretty laughable. This is one of those rules you see T-Ball parents make so that their kid won't have to experience defeat and have a so called better self esteem. We are surprised that a separate rule didn't get introduced that gives trophies to the losing teams players and another that states that mommies must bring only healthy snacks to players after the game and refrain against Ho Ho's and Juicy Juice.

What's the point of this rule? Imagine that the score is tied in the top of the 9th, 1 out, nobody on and the 7 spot is up. He blasts a laser over the right field wall and the dug-out goes crazy. The natural reaction of these players on a team that experiences such a game changer is to crowd the plate and congratulate their hero. It's been like this since the late 19th century...that's baseball....always been that way. With the new rules, if such a celebration occurs, the player could be ejected and the score would remain tied.

It also seems that dugout chatter is not allowed either. This is the part of the game I sort of enjoy. Especially the college game. There are some funny guys in some of those dug-outs and they keep the fans in stitches at many games. There are some basic rules a dug-out must adhere to and coaches know when a player has crossed the line...but do we need extra rules?

We have thought about this rule and are trying to think of why a home plate celebration of a home run is such a bad thing. It's not like home runs occur every inning and such a celebration would delay a game. Home plate celebrations occur because 4 baggers are rare.

I'd hate to think that the NCAA would put this rule in place due to sportsmanlike violations. Since when is congratulating a player on your team unsportsmanlike. If there is any player on an opposing team that has their feelings hurt because a player just hit a homer off of your star hurler, then their skin needs to thicken a few inches.

So this year, when a game changing home run or run is scored, players in the dug-out must sit on their hands and stay in the dug-out...BORING! Come on NCAA! What other restrictions are you going to impose on baseball players? The NCAA already has an embarrassing 14 scholarships that have to be divided amongst 30 of the hardest working athletes in all of college sports, makes them play up to 5 games a week, imposes a stricter APR standard, and has forced teams to reduce their rosters. Now they want to restrict having fun? WOW!!!!