As Players Are Hugging Opponents During Games, We Ask: Has Sports Become Too Soft?

What were they thinking?

That’s what I want to know after Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia and San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado embraced each other with a hug DURING last night’s National League Wild Card game. The worst part? It came after Machado had just hit a two-run double! 

You mean to tell me that the two players couldn’t have said hello during batting practice or, I don’t know, maybe after the game? They had to give each other a hug at that moment. And what was Arcia thinking especially? How do you think his pitcher or teammates felt as they glanced back and saw him hugging the opponents, which in sports terms are the equivalent of one’s enemies? 

PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!

I don’t care if they were even brothers – there are rules here. Or at least, there used to be, as sports continue to turn soft. 

Pardon me if I sound like Jim Mora’s famous ‘Playoffs’ rant, but instead of questioning if a team was making the playoffs, my rant would be about why on Earth the two players would get all cozy with each other during a playoff game of all things!

And no, this has nothing to do with sportsmanship after you just embraced someone who scored 2 runs on you.

PETE ROSE, KOBE BRYANT AND OTHER GREATS WERE BUILT DIFFERENT

The great boxer Rocky Marciano used to talk about having a “Killer Instinct,” which is what separated him from others when he went into battle in the boxing ring. Kobe Bryant for sure had it. Same with Michael Jordan. 

On the baseball diamond, the recently passed Pete Rose had it. Some may recall Rose running home and absolutely CRUSHING catcher Ray Fosse during an All-Star Game of all things at home plate, fracturing and separating Fosse’s shoulder. Afterwords, Rose said that “nobody told me they changed it to girls’ softball between third and home.”

Absolutely savage. But, he has a point. And it’s not like you have to physically hurt your opponent to display it, as some could argue nice guy Tom Brady had it as well; being able to block out everything else and focus on the task at hand; winning the game at all costs. There’s plenty of time for hugs, drinks, and to talk about each other’s families afterward or during a round of golf, just not during the game itself.

Sure, sports is supposed to be fun and, at the root of it, it is still fun. The last thing I support are crazy Little League parents yelling at umpires and embarrassing their own children, or putting so much pressure on kids that it ends up having the opposite effect and actually turns the aspiring athlete off from the game.

But when you get to a certain level in sports – just like in life, you need to turn the smile into a stern face, focus and, as Herm Edwards famously said, “Play to win the game.”

Orlando Arcia didn’t do that last night when he hugged Manny Machado during the game after the Padres third baseman just showed up his pitcher AND Arcia’s team by scoring two runs on them. If I was Braves manager Brian Snitker I would have benched Arcia. You know Billy Martin would have.

Of course, that can’t be done these days because many players are too sensitive and soft and it would only lead to Snitker being fired, as managers and coaches across all leagues continue to lose the support from the Front Office to the players making hundreds of millions of dollars.

But for those athletes who are able to continue to strive for that Killer Instinct mindset on the playing field, they are the ones who will ultimately win in the end. 

The rest can just get participation trophies, something I’m sure they had a lot of during their upbringing. 

DO YOU AGREE? DISAGREE?  TWEET ME: @TheGunzShow