Saturday, I sat in the lower level near left field at Great American Ball Park so I had a good view of Dickerson's 4 strikeouts and 3 (should have been called) errors. In the 6th inning, when Dickerson made 2 fielding mistakes immediately followed by a great catch, he played to the crowd and got a standing ovation for it. Still I heard fans heckle Dickerson. They heckled him to his face, they heckle him behind his back on radio call-in shows and on blogs and internet message boards. To me, that is uncalled for. Just as there is a certain way, a code, for playing the game of baseball, I believe there is a "code" for being a fan. A good baseball fan does not boo a player on his or her team. There's absolutely no reason to believe that Dickerson is not trying his hardest. Dickerson will be in left field for tonight's game and I hope he makes a few more fans with his performance -- he has one regardless.
Image from 2009 Reds Winter Caravan blog.
Update 8:18PM: I hope some of you folks who have been bad-mouthing Dickerson are watching the game tonight. Chris has made two amazing plays in the field. One throw to nail Miguel Tejada (an ex-roider, btw) at second, another great sliding stop and laser-beam thrown to hold Tejada to a single. Dickerson also collected a single in the 4th and barreled into Tejada to break up a double play. Pure hustle.
6 comments:
I completely agree! the other thing is that I totally disagree with throwing a ball back. I dont care that you hate the team. you HAVE to have more LOVE FOR THE GAME thank hate for any team. Catching a ball is part of the grates game in the world falling into your lap. Take it home and put it on the shelf, or give it to a kid that would cherish the crap out of it! That should be in the code too!!
"you HAVE to have more LOVE FOR THE GAME thank hate for any team."
Well said Lisa!
If I ever caught a homerun ball, there's no way I'm ever throwing it back... I don't care who hit it.
Matt Murton, when he played for the Cubs, threw me a ball during batting practice one day. Afterwards he came over and signed it for me... great guy. I cherish that ball.
yep I agree. are you listening to mike and mike this morning? that is all they are talking about... fan behavior code!! something about stupid hockey game, but the points are still all the same! good show this am.
Lisa,
No I haven't been listening to Mike and Mike but it sounds very interesting.
maybe he needs to wear the scarf around his head. he seems to lead the league in concussions. hope he bounces back strong. he seems like one of 'the good guys' in baseball.
if i'm a fan of the team, i'm allowed to voice my opinion of the play on the field. I'm not going to cheer when dickerson turns routine plays into exhibitions of uncoordination. i was one of the fans in left who heckled him the whole game; he deserved it. at least when the Reds had adam dunn in left, you knew what to expect. 40 hrs, 100 walks, 100 runs, and some shoddy defense. Dickerson would be a AAA player on 80% of the teams in the majors.
nothing against his effort, but he's just not talented enough to play at the major league level.
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