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It's time to vote for the fifth and final SB Nation MLB Award of 2015. Every day this week you Gaslamp Ballers have been casting your votes for MLB Hitter of the Year, MLB Pitcher of the Year, Padres Defensive Play of the Year, and Padres Bat Flip / Celebration of the Year. In today's conclusion, we'll be picking the Best Breakage of Unwritten Rules.
This category is a little more abstract than the others, but there are a few really obvious examples to choose from. First up is the instance that immediately came to mind when I first heard this category a little while back. Not surprisingly, it features a guy who regularly makes headlines, not just because of his hitting prowess but because of what some people claim as arrogance and/or a lack of maturity.
I would describe the incident myself, but really you should just read Grant Brisbee's take on it because, like so many other instances, he explains it better than I could ever hope.
The unwritten rules of Jonathan Papelbon attacking Bryce Harper for not hustling
The next nominee for Best Breakage of Unwritten Rules is that I assume the people over at Bluebird Banter were talking about yesterday when they voted for Best Blue Jays Bat Flip / Celebration of the Year. Baseball is a really emotional game, but it's often considered a faux pas to show that emotion. That's why it's an unwritten rule to not do things like flip your bat. But there are times when it's just RIGHT to do it. Jose Bautista capitalized on one of those times with one of the best bat flips, not only of the year, but probably ever.
As a fan of a team that has never experienced a perfect game, I admit I always get bitter every time another team gets one. So this next nominee might just get my vote. A perfect game can be considered ruined in all kinds of ways, ranging from an announcer merely mentioning the perfect game on air to a player in the game actively interfering. This is an instance of the latter, and a total breakage of a couple of unwritten rules about leaning into pitches and breaking up perfect games. By the way, Max Scherzer still ended up getting the no-hitter that night, and one of two no-hitters he threw in 2015 alone.
Do you have another event you'd like to nominate? Let us know in the comments and if anyone agrees with your nominee they can vote for it by hitting that "rec" button.