MLB

Searching For Tony Plush: How Nyjer Morgan Is Going Off The Deep End

The Washington Nationals‘ Nyjer Morgan is an exciting player. He became the first National to steal three bases in one game on July 22nd, and his demeanor on the basepaths is something to behold.

What sets him apart from other speedsters is that he runs completely devoid of any type of abandon (this is both good and bad – he stole 42 bases in 2009, but was caught 17 times, which tied him for the most times caught in the majors). But Morgan, who sometimes refers to himself as Tony Plush according to his Wikipedia page, has not-so-quietly taken a detour to crazy town in the last week.

Let’s review: on August 21st, he threw a ball into the stands in a game against the Phillies, was suspended for seven games, but is currently appealing. Last Saturday, he ran over Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson even though Anderson didn’t have the ball, and was subsequently benched a game by his manager for “unprofessional play.” On Tuesday, he plowed through Florida’s Brett Hayes, another catcher, effectively ending Hayes’ season with a shoulder injury.

That set the table for Morgan’s transformation into something between “scrappy enforcer” and “baseball sociopath,” which occurred on Wednesday during his now-infamous brawl with pretty much the entire Marlins team.

We turned to Jason Turbow, author of “The Baseball Codes” (Random House, 2010), and blogger of baseball’s unwritten rules at baseballcodes.com, for some context.

Here’s what he said, via email, about Morgan’s descent into momentary madness and the codes he broke along the way:

Morgan was a target going into Wednesday’s game, with Florida clearly seeking retaliation for his hit on Hayes, especially after the extent of his injury became clear. Even Morgan knew it, and responded properly after being drilled by Chris Volstad in the fourth inning by running to first base without protest.

According to the unwritten rules, here’s how the situation should have played out, from the beginning: Morgan injures a Marlins player with a dubious choice of tactics; Marlins pitcher drills Morgan (appropriately, it should be added, in the waist); Morgan takes his base. Situation resolved.

And it would have been, had Morgan left it at that. On Volstad’s next pitch, however, he stole second. On the pitch after that, he stole third. The score at the time was 14-3.

Some people have been up in arms against those who have called out Morgan for violating the Code with those steals. While it’s not good baseball sense to play so aggressively with your team down by such a wide margin, that’s really beside the point.

Morgan didn’t steal those bases to get his team back into the game. He stole the bases to send a message of his own, essentially painting the previous interaction as a lesson unlearned. Its essence: I’ll run over your catcher again, if the mood strikes.

He couldn’t have expected the Marlins to refrain from further response. In fact, he didn’t, based on his readiness to charge the mound after Volstad threw a pitch behind him in the sixth. Actions and consequences. Morgan knew that his steals would keep alive the bad blood between him and the Marlins, and it didn’t matter. That, unequivocally, is a violation of the Code.