MLB's Unwritten Rules Have Met a Consensus: Let Fernando Tatis Jr. Be Great

Chris Woodward is in the wrong, Fernando Tatis Jr. is in the right and, in general, Major League Baseball would be better off if its unwritten rules also became unspoken.Now then, let's back up.An incident unfolded during the eighth inning of the San Diego Padres' 14-4 win over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Monday. In his eyes, Tatis had broken baseball's unwritten rules.Here's what the Rangers' second-year manager said after the game, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com:"There's a lot of unwritten rules that are constantly being challenged in today's game. As covered by Steve Gardner of USA Today in 2019, not swinging on 3-0 with a big lead is indeed one of baseball's unwritten rules.Albeit in less pointed terms, Tatis also got an earful from his own manager. They look even worse when applied to a player like Tatis, who's perhaps the ultimate example of what a modern baseball player should be.He's an extraordinarily talented shortstop who's put up a 1.000 OPS, 33 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 5.7 WAR in his first 107 career games. Even if they're happening with a 3-0 count and a seven-run lead.Major League Baseball should want more players like Tatis, not fewer. Which brings us to yet another non-surprising aspect of the fallout from Monday night: The league suspended Woodward for one game and Gibaut for three games.It's a safe guess that all this drama won't be the final nail in the coffin of baseball's unwritten rules.