Running

Running has long been the standard punishment for baseball players. A lot of times after a game you run poles (one “pole” is running from one end of the outfield fence to the other and back, staying in the vicinity the fence) equal to the number of runs you lost by, or perhaps the number of errors, or strikeouts looking. Even if you personally didn’t make any of the mistake that the coach specifies, you have to run; it’s a team thing. I’m here today to take a deeper look at this tradition, or more accurately, tell you why it’s completely and utterly stupid.
First, you’re being punished for something you were already punished for in the game. It’s not as if anyone enjoys making an error or striking out or losing. If I make an error, not wanting to do it again and suffer the consequences that come with it (hurting the team, looking bad, and possibly getting less playing time) is motivation enough to try to correct it. Running will just annoy me.
Second, you’re punishing the whole team for something one player did—even if multiple players committed the offense, they each get punished for everyone’s mistake, not just their own. Take for example my game yesterday. I didn’t play at all. There was nothing I could have done to change anything that happened in it. Yet if, after the game, the coach had deemed running “necessary”, I would have had to run the same amount as someone who might have made 5 mistakes. How does that make sense?
To add on to that, I once heard a coach say that when one player makes a mistake, the whole team suffers, so the whole team would run for the one player’s mistake. How does that work? The team already suffered, and there’s nothing the team can do to change it, so why punish the team?
There are a few situations that I would agree with running. I could definitely see making players run as punishment for bad behavior, but still not the whole team. Also possibly for repeated laziness, such as not running hard in a game, and maybe even repeatedly being late. But those latter ones I’d still be more inclined to punish by taking away playing time. It’s more direct, and it also matters a lot more to players—I know I’d run 10 poles every game if I could be guaranteed I’d play every inning. But if I did sit them, I’d be sure to let them know that their laziness was the reason they were getting splinters in their butt, not their performance.
In closing, if any of you ever happen to coach a baseball team, never ever make them run as punishment for poor play.
The defense rests.