Trevor Bauer backs Yermin Mercedes in battle against baseball’s unwritten rules

Chicago White Sox slugger Yermin Mercedes remains a hot topic due to his disregard of the unwritten rules of baseball.

Mercedes has a fan in Trevor Bauer, as the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher is routinely outspoken about the unwritten rules of baseball. Primarily, he doesn’t enjoy the backhanded nature of them.

With Minnesota Twins position player Willians Astudillo on the mound, Mercedes launched a 3-0 moonshot to center field. Obviously, Astudillo is not an everyday pitcher, nor should he be — the man dished out a sub-50 mph pitch and expected Mercedes not to hit it.

The Minnesota Twins seem to be fine with this. Mercedes for sure is grateful of Astudillo’s batting practice fastball. But, apparently, there are some who don’t feel the same way. Namely White Sox manager Tony La Russa.

“Big mistake,” La Russa said Tuesday. “The fact that he’s a rookie, and excited, helps explain why he just was clueless. But now he’s got a clue.”

Trevor Bauer comes to Yermin Mercedes defense

Bauer tweeted on Tuesday night, backing Mercedes and coming to the defense of fun baseball everywhere.

“Dear hitters: If you hit a 3-0 homer off me, I will not consider it a crime. Dear people who are still mad about a hitter hitting: kindly get out of the game. Can’t believe we’re still talking about 3-0 swings. If you don’t like it, managers or pitchers, just be better,” Bauer wrote.

Sounds easy enough. 3-0 is a hitter’s count, but by no means is it a guaranteed base. Mercedes took his cut just like he should, especially considering he spent eight years in the minor leagues just to reach this position.

La Russa’s own players disagree with him. If that’s not enough of a sign, I don’t know what is.