Commentary; MLB Policing of Base Coaches

The MLB is going too far with their handling of base coaches.

On Tuesday night, Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa was ejected for not staying within the coaching box it. We’ve all seen the highlights and heard the commentary on this one. This is Bowa’s second run in with the MLB. During the first spring training game Bowa refused to wear the mandatory batters helmet. The MLB called Torre up the next day and told him to pass the message along to Bowa: No helmet, no coaching first or third.

Obviously the base coaching box ruling is a joke. So there is no real need to delve deeper here. Coaches have never used the coaching box and even at the start of the season coaches are standing outside of the box. Either the MLB should enforce this 100% or not at all. Randomly picking and choosing when to enforce this rule is a joke. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bowa was singled out in advance, as everyone knows he’ll go ballistic and create a media buzz awareness about the rule. Onto the batting helmets…

If safety is the primary issue, and this is not a token showcase by the MLB, then why are pitchers not forced to wear the same style batting helmet? I can remember far more instances in the past ten years of a pitcher getting hit in the head by a batted ball vs a base coach. We all know that balls are coming back at a pitcher at extreme speeds. Obviously some fastening would be needed for pitchers. But if “safety” is the primary goal, it should be a moot point. Will this happen? Nope. The players Union would never allow it. Typically and certainly under the Selig regime, the MLB loves to pick on those that have little to no power, such as coaches and umpires.