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Hey, buddy, come on down from due stands and say that

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Todd Jones

As you know, baseball players are targets. Heck, most anybody is a target nowadays, from the guy suing his neighbor over his cat to the kid at school who beats up the kid who has had those 500 karate lessons. He's still a victim, you know.

But as a player, you can't get caught up in the moment and lose your mind. You will lose in that situation every time. Fans, for the most part, are great, though we all have seen the ones looking for trouble. Many of those troubleseekers know how to push our buttons; when they do, we just have to grin and bear it.

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After the fiasco at the White Sox's park a couple of years ago, there's much better security around the bullpens. Because of how close most bullpens are to the stands, they can be an ideal spot for fans who want to be that guy--that guy who's trying to be funny until he crosses the line. Then it becomes personal. Players aren't supposed to listen, but when it gets too graphic, it's difficult not to.

So players are taught to never say anything back. We are told to call security and let them get those people out of the section. In Midwestern parks, they're quick to do that. And if other fans cross the line, get them out of the ballpark.

Oh, I know: You wouldn't say anything. You would sit there and go over the hitters you're going to face and not even respond. You could keep your cool. Right?

Wrong. We get this every night. Every night someone wants to be the guy to impress his buddies or girlfriend. Most of the time, he doesn't. First of all, he stammers. Second, he usually makes no sense.

But when it gets bad, we get security. Or we respond. To be honest, it's fun to yell back at these guys. It's not that hard to embarrass them so badly they realize they've made fools of themselves, so they shut up and sit down. But for the ones who won't let up, you get security.

When that doesn't help, it's up to you. The first rule on how to handle the situation: Stay out of the stands. Go in the stands, and you become liable.

Persuading the guy to jump on the field is the preferred option. Once he jumps on the field, he's fair game. And let me assure you, players live for this. This is the one time you have the get-out-of-jail-free card. You can do what you want and won't get in trouble.

I'm sure the lawyer for the woman injured by the chair in Oakland will say Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco snapped and threw it into the stands totally unprovoked. That line of crap will hold up because an object went into the stands. So turn that around: When someone jumps on the field, a player can say he was worried for his life, that he didn't know if that guy had a knife or whatever. It will stand up.

One way to fix this is to have more security and zero tolerance for dumdums. Make one bad remark, and you're gone. No questions, no second chances. If people tried to get away with some of that stuff at any other job, the lawsuits would be flying. But because players are public figures, we're supposed to just keep our mouths shut.

Well, how about this: Why don't we all treat people like we want to be treated? I think I learned that one in kindergarten. Or was it church?

E-mail Todd Jones, a reliever for the P[TEXT UNREADABLE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]lies, at tjones@sportingnews.com.

Hey, buddy, come on down from due stands and say that

Sporting News, The, Sept 27, 2004 by Todd Jones

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