Time for unwritten rules to be written

J ose Bautista homered for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night, glared at Atlanta pitcher Eric O’Flaherty and then ceremoniously flipped his bat to begin a trot around the diamond.

You know what happened next. Braves second baseman Jace Peterson had words for Bautista as he rounded first, catcher Kurt Suzuki was waiting at home with more displeasure and soon enough the benches emptied.

No punches were thrown, because baseball players generally are more talk than fight, and here’s what they like to talk about. Baseball’s unwritten rules.

You know of the seven deadly sins. You’ve hung Ten Commandments décor on your living room walls. Neither has anything on the fervor by which some embrace baseball’s unwritten rules.

Don’t run slowly around the bases after a home run.

Don’t steal bases with a big lead.

Don’t bunt to break up a no-hitter.

Makes you think that Emily Post has a bigger impact on baseball than did Wally Post. That etiquette, not high competition or stirring drama, is what baseball’s all about.

Baseball going back more than a century has

a code of conduct that now is under siege by a younger generation. Latin players, in particular, don’t seem to think that baseball should be played with somber faces and stately gaits.

I’m not big on staring down pitchers whose fastball has just been airmailed 420 feet. That’s a punk move. But flipping a bat? How is that a breach of protocol, but a pitcher’s fist pump is not after a much-needed strikeout?