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April 11, 2011 WallyBall Joe Janish

What Would Wally Do: HR Argument

From the files of “What Would Wally Do”, we have a prime example of what Wally Backman did when there was a blatantly awful homerun call against his club.

Please be aware, this is NSFW and not suitable for children under the age of 18 (under 9 for children living in trailer parks).

You must watch Wally’s post-ejection interview as well:

And here is a reaction from one of the players in the dugout who witnessed the bad call and Wally’s outburst:

And another reaction from a reliever who saw the “homerun” from the bullpen angle:

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. xDanTanna April 11, 2011 at 12:16 pm
    A real manager! There was a lot of calls going against Met hitters the other day. Ike maybe should not complain as much as he is doing. But, that is where a guy like Bobby Cox or a Backman would step in and fight for his players. Terry Collins just sat like a bump on a log just like the past guys have done.
  2. Walnutz15 April 11, 2011 at 1:53 pm
    Ike’s proven himself very susceptible to the borderline pitch on the outer-half of the plate.

    Whether he likes it or not, he’s going to have to start going oppo with more frequency — that’s the type of adjustment that’s going to come soon….with the early success he’s having.

    He actually does it very well….but I can see he doesn’t like it very much.

  3. Eddie April 11, 2011 at 4:55 pm
    That was disgraceful. “Fire” is good. Standing up for your players is good. Screaming insults over and over at an umpire is childish and wrong. I hope Wally grows up before he is ever considered for a major league managerial position.
    • John Fitzgerald April 11, 2011 at 8:51 pm
      What was disgraceful was the umpire telling everyone at a local bar that night that his intention was to toss Backman as fast as he could, just to see what he would do.

      But arguing with an umpire? No… not disgraceful. Part of the game.

    • CatchDog April 12, 2011 at 9:02 am
      Considering that when Wally was passed over in favor of Terry Collins this winter, apparently not one of the 29 other major league teams offered him anything better. That’s a clear indication that they were not impressed with his managing style either.
      • Joe Janish April 14, 2011 at 3:54 pm
        Or it’s a clear indication that teams still have Wally on their blackballed list.

        So, a manager who argues with umpires is poor style? I guess Bobby Cox, Tom Lasorda, Casey Stengel, Leo Durocher, and about a thousand other MLB managers would not impress teams today, either.

        Not surprising; clubs today are more concerned with protecting their precious “brand” than anything else. Art Howe is the prototype manager for modern front offices.

    • Joe Janish April 14, 2011 at 4:11 pm
      “Screaming insults over and over at an umpire is childish and wrong. I hope Wally grows up before he is ever considered for a major league managerial position.”

      Agreed, it is childish. Baseball is childish, when you think about it.

      It’s wrong to scream insults at the waiter in a restaurant. It’s wrong to scream insults during an office meeting. It’s wrong to scream insults just about everywhere else in life. Why is it wrong on a baseball field? It’s been accepted as normal behavior on a professional baseball field since the 19th century. Why is it suddenly wrong? Because for perhaps the first time you’re hearing, word-for-word, what a heated exchange between a manager and umpire actually sounds like? What do you think most managers say to umpires when they run out and argue? Do you truly, honestly believe that they are polite and use language befitting of a gentleman? Seriously???????

      I hope Wally never “grows up”, if “growing up” means walking out and offering tea and crumpets to the umpire after a call is blown.

      Check out some of the arguments when Bobby Cox, Tom Lasorda, Lou Piniella, or Earl Weaver were mic’ed up. Their language was not so flowery. Would you prevent Cox from managing your team because he has a potty mouth?

  4. metforlife April 12, 2011 at 1:58 pm
    Wally Should have been named Met’s Mgr. Things might be a little different right now as far as attitude.
  5. Anthony April 14, 2011 at 9:14 am
    I’m surprised to see that Joe thinks this was a good reaction. It’s one thing to get fired up and to invigorate your team. It’s another to get intensely personal and call an umpire a piece of sh-t, motherf-er, and all of this other stuff.

    In addition, minor league ballparks are small – how many children in the stands heard every word he said?

    Joe, I’ve had great respect for your insight and read your blog almost daily. I’m really surprised to see you endorse this.

    • Joe Janish April 14, 2011 at 3:59 pm
      How many children in the stands speak those words themselves, and/or hear them from their parents every day? Or on TV? This isn’t the 1950s; times have changed, and unfortunately obscene language is hardly shocking when heard anywhere.

      I don’t necessarily endorse the volume of expletives, but I absolutely, positively endorse the manager running out there and giving the umpire an earful after what was an obvious and obnoxiously terrible call.

  6. Jack April 16, 2011 at 12:42 am
    JJ – Let’s say you had a six year old son and you brought him to the park to celebrate his birthday.

    Would you have been happy if your son was in the stands and heard this type of stuff from Backman?

  7. Nicastro April 16, 2011 at 1:07 pm
    This is reprehensible.