On Monday night, up seven runs in the eighth inning, Padres shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. swung at a 3–0 pitch and hit a grand slam. Afterward, Rangers manager Chris Woodward complained that Tatís had not respected the game’s unwritten rules and taken a pitch there. The hours that have followed have been just about the best period for baseball in months.
This whole thing has been ridiculous. Finally! A feud that boils down to You embarrassed me is much more lighthearted and delightful than the other two major causes of inter-team hostility we’ve seen recently: You perpetrated perhaps the worst scandal in the sport’s history and You may have exposed me to a respiratory virus that has killed more than 170,000 Americans.