Jefry Yan’s strikeout celebration is what MLB needs to rip up the unwritten rules

Nothing sparks more frequent debates among MLB fans than the unwritten rules of the game because, well, they're unwritten. They're up for interpretation. Some fans love when players admire home runs; others can't stand it. Some fans love when players steal bases when up or down by several runs; others can't stand it. Odds are, Jefry Yan's strikeout celebration is going to spark some debate between MLB fans.

Yan, making his MLB debut with the New York Mets on Wednesday, struck Angel Martinez out and unleashed a celebration unlike any other. He leaped up in the air, slammed the ground, and even shimmied his way back onto the mound. That's quite the celebration for a rather normal strikeout in the bottom of the sixth inning of a meaningless game for the hapless Mets. While some are sure to hate this, MLB needs more Jefry Yan's.

Jefry Yan's strikeout celebration should be praised and repeated

At the end of the day, it's just not that serious. Baseball is a game that's meant to be played in a fun way. What fun is it to just walk around as if nothing happened when you strike a batter out or when you hit a home run? Was Yan's celebration a bit excessive? Sure, but who cares? If the opposition manages to score a run against him, they can celebrate as much as they want, too.

It's not as if Yan is just a gimmicky pitcher making a mockery of the game. He's a left-handed reliever who struck out over half of the batters he faced this season in 14 Triple-A appearances. He hit triple digits with his fastball several times, and even managed to get out of a key bases-loaded jam with one out. Of course, he celebrated each out in a way only he could.

Again, it might seem crazy to some of the boomers out there, but this kind of energy is what MLB needs, and it should inspire some change around the league.

Jefry Yan should inspire MLB to ditch its unwritten rules

The rules of the game should be followed and respected, but there's a reason unwritten rules are not actual rules. They are not, and should not, be followed by everybody. Yan is technically breaking an unwritten rule by celebrating in the way he did after getting outs, but he's having fun! The Guardians even used the celebration as fuel, mocking it when they retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Good!

The Mets, too, used Yan's energy as fuel, coming back in the ninth inning against All-Star closer Cade Smith and beating Cleveland in extra innings. For a Mets team that snapped a 91-game losing streak when trailing after eight innings in May (it's true, look it up), perhaps Yan's enthusiasm can spark some sort of run. Well, as good a run as a team that traded virtually its entire bullpen can realistically go on. Just look at what Christian Scott said postgame.

The point is, we should let players have fun. Yan isn't throwing at anybody or doing anything illegal. As far as I'm concerned, he can celebrate however he wants, with that being the case, and the same goes for the opposition. If and when Yan runs into some trouble, the opposing team can, should, and presumably will, celebrate accordingly. As for the Cleveland fans who went out of their way to boo Yan after their team botched a bases-loaded one-out opportunity, perhaps they should tell their team to play better, rather than voice displeasure with a reliever who did his job.

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