Fans can’t get enough of the Stroman show

Certain things are not tolerated by athletes in professional sports.

A youngster who comes up and gets too comfortable, too quickly will put themselves in a tough spot.

With a few exceptions, it’s better to be quiet and earn your place before thinking you are one of the guys.

Faking, flopping, feigning and fabricating will get you hated – fast.

Incessant chirping and complaining can grate on players, especially if your mouth is making remarks that your play can’t back up.

But overall, professional sports is a pretty accepting fraternity. Everyone appreciates how difficult it is to get there and if you want to go anywhere as a team, you had better be tight.

Baseball tends to fall on the low end of players whose behaviour stands out. Its movements can be robotic to a fault. That’s what prompted Bryce Harper to speak out in ESPN The Magazine after he was criticized for the extras in his play.

Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays has had a few extras of his own and lately, they have been netting him some heat.

Stroman was tossed from a start against the Oakland As on July 27, after becoming upset enough about the calls of home plate umpire, Will Little, to rush the plate.

Then, in his very next start, the native of New York state brought Jays and White Sox players out of the dugouts and the relief pitchers out of the bullpens when he got into it with Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson after striking out Anderson in the seventh inning at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Both players were asked about it afterward and the issue seemed to stem from comments that Stroman made after Anderson stepped out of the batter’s box.

According to Anderson, Stroman “mumbled” something else as well. A couple of old-fashioned attempts to throw the other guy off. It escalated to shouting and eventually a bear-hug from White Sox hitting coach, Todd Steverson to keep the players from getting a little closer.

The energy, enthusiasm and reaction that Stroman shows in games is not bad. It’s just different. And he shouldn’t be told to contain it or try to change.

The guy is a 5’8 fireplug who has likely lived life being told that he lacks an ideal pitcher’s frame, that his fastball lacks fire and that he was destined for middle relief.

If a player in another sport is on the small side, it’s almost as if they are expected to do things that make themselves stand out. Allen Iverson? Brad Marchand? They wind up being respected for their style. An “energy-player” is a compliment.

Stroman seems to have a growing number of fans around the game. He receives tweets of support. He got one from a fellow pitcher after the Anderson altercation.

And judging by a tweet of his own, the entire situation and any others in the past have not caused Stroman to re-think a thing.

Nor should he.

There was a long lull in sports that came over it like a fog in which individual personalities faded. Hockey fans of the ’60s and ’70s like to blame the introduction of helmets.

In reality, it has a lot to do with attempting to control the message. With 24-hour a day coverage, it’s often better to say very little and blend into the background.

But that’s bland and unappealing.

It’s a balance that the sports world is still working through.

There are flares and flickers of personality now and for fans, they are a welcomed sight.

For the Blue Jays, Stroman has been a true spark. His victory in the game against the White Sox made him one of 23 pitchers in all of baseball to hit the double-digit mark in wins. At that point, his total was double what any other pitcher on the Jays roster had. Next in line was reliever Ryan Tepera.

It’s been that kind of a year in Toronto.

Stroman has sat number one among Jays’ pitchers in innings pitched and leads all starters in ERA.

The guy just turned 26 and he has earned his place. He could settle down a bit as he gets older, but Jays’ fans should hope that he doesn’t. This is his game and right now, his game and all that comes with it is pretty darned good.