Dallas Braden

Dallas Braden was recently introduced to the baseball world at large when he chastised Alex Rodriguez for breaking an unwritten rule. The veteran third baseman circled back to first after a foul ball, passing directly over the pitcher's mound on his way there. Braden took offense, yelled across the field at A-Rod, and went on to comment after the game that he was shocked that a player of such caliber wouldn't respect one of baseball's unwritten rules. Most of us thought the whole thing was a little funny, as even some major league managers had never heard of the supposed tradition. Rodriguez had similar thoughts, saying he thought that the outburst was pretty funny coming from a guy with just a handful of wins in his career.

A few weeks later, Dallas Braden throws a perfect game against one of the better offenses in the league. Let me be clear about this. He accomplished the single most impressive individual feat in sports. He was perfect through nine innings, not allowing a single baserunner. This has happened only nineteen times in the history of baseball.

Just minutes after I watched Braden get his twenty-seventh consecutive out on a groundball to short, I started hearing about how now he had some credibility, and even A-Rod would admit it. It seemed that Braden's achievement was overshadowed by his oddly public embarrasment from earlier this year.

Today the big story is that Evan Longoria, one of the best hitters in the major leagues, tried to bunt his way on base. Many consider this an unwritten rule, and it's certainly more widely accepted than the idea that the mound is off limits to all position players. Longoria's manager came out and said that he supports Longoria's decision. They weren't trying to keep Braden from the record books. They were trying to score runs and win the game.

Braden, however, wasn't part of the group criticizing the Ray's third baseman. I saw him interviewed after the game and he didn't mention it. Still, the sports media seems determined to make his perfect game about the controversy from early in the season. They suggest that this game revolved around an unwritten rule and almost have us believe that Braden felt this way.

I say shame on you, baseball world. Braden threw an incredible game and made no attempt to go after Longoria. Let's focus on his accomplishment and not drag any bad blood into it.