Jay Payton's middle finger

[El Gordo]

I've never understood the middle finger. Whats the point its your finger?!?

Digitus impudicus goes back to the Romans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_finger

[blueberryale77]

Even assuming everything in the OP is exactly true, I really can't muster any righteous indignation about this.

Baseball needs more players behaving like actual human beings rather than corporate PC robots IMO.

You could say that about a lot of professions. That doesn't mean it's ok to do things at work (particularly when you're representing your employer publicly) that are intentionally offensive to some people. There are plenty of people I encounter at work that I'd like to flip off, but I don't because there's a time and a place for that and work isn't it... and of course my work doesn't involve small children who worship the ground I walk on. That said, as an isolated incident I don't think this is that much to get upset about, but with Payton it's part of a long, long pattern of little issues that point to him not being much of a team player or positive influence. He's a case where I could live with him being on the team if he were a good guy but playing the way he does and being a grouchy old curmudgeon is just too much annoyance for a fan to take.

[StottyByNature]

Jay Payton gets paid millions of dollars to work in a place where he is being observed by thousands a night. This is not a cubicle job, he knows there are kids watching and that there are people drinking alcohol watching as well. I think it is OK to expect him to behave better than the average Joe you pass on the street. The passion I would like to see out of him is hustling out a routine ground ball.

[Gofannon]

(Sigh) did anyone else actually see Jay give the finger here? Or are we all just jumping on the OH whipping boy?

(Sigh) Not sure where to start. If you'll look over my previous posts, I don't tend to jump on the popular whipping boys. Or the unpopular ones.

If you're doubting whether he gave someone the finger, I don't know what to tell you. Immediately after the comment was made, he held up his middle finger on the back of his hat. People throughout the section responded immediately as well. It was intentional. If you want me to find a second gesturer on the grassy knoll, I'll look for him.

Rooter, if you'd like to teach me how to adjust your hat using only your middle finger, I'm up for the lesson.

By the way, I agree the original comment by the fan was uncalled for. It's not like Payton wanted to pop out with runners in scoring position. My exact comment to my son was that the gesture was an inappropriate response to a comment that shouldn't have been made.

[Pedro Cerrano]

(Sigh) Not sure where to start. If you'll look over my previous posts, I don't tend to jump on the popular whipping boys. Or the unpopular ones.

If you're doubting whether he gave someone the finger, I don't know what to tell you. Immediately after the comment was made, he held up his middle finger on the back of his hat. People throughout the section responded immediately as well. It was intentional. If you want me to find a second gesturer on the grassy knoll, I'll look for him.

Rooter, if you'd like to teach me how to adjust your hat using only your middle finger, I'm up for the lesson.

By the way, I agree the original comment by the fan was uncalled for. It's not like Payton wanted to pop out with runners in scoring position. My exact comment to my son was that the gesture was an inappropriate response to a comment that shouldn't have been made.

Not attacking you, per se. Just the people who are hearing information second-hand and jumping all over the guy.

If you had substituted "Nick Markakis" or "Brian Roberts" in for "Jay Payton" in your original post, I doubt most people on here would react the way they did with Jay. Not defending the man if that is what he did, but it's an unfair double standard.

[Dr. FLK]

Even assuming everything in the OP is exactly true, I really can't muster any righteous indignation about this.

Baseball needs more players behaving like actual human beings rather than corporate PC robots IMO.

Does it take a corporate PC robot to know not to flip the bird to fans? That's more of a sign of maturity and self-restraint. I see your point, but I'm not so sure it applies to this situations(if it's true).

[Boy Howdy]

You could say that about a lot of professions. That doesn't mean it's ok to do things at work (particularly when you're representing your employer publicly) that are intentionally offensive to some people. There are plenty of people I encounter at work that I'd like to flip off, but I don't because there's a time and a place for that and work isn't it... and of course my work doesn't involve small children who worship the ground I walk on. That said, as an isolated incident I don't think this is that much to get upset about, but with Payton it's part of a long, long pattern of little issues that point to him not being much of a team player or positive influence. He's a case where I could live with him being on the team if he were a good guy but playing the way he does and being a grouchy old curmudgeon is just too much annoyance for a fan to take.

The first half of your post reminds me why I wrote what I wrote. This whole notion -which has gone tway oo far IMO- that we must bow down to the person that signs our checks and behave as THEY say we must at all times while on the clock for the right to get paid the money that we bleed, sweat and cry in order to earn is some bass ackwards propaganda IMO.

Jay Payton's job is to hit left-handed pitching, occasionally a righty, and catch the ball if it's near him. He's doing it better this year than he gets credit for a lot of times.

All the stuff in the second half of your post is basically the flip side to the Millar argument it seems to me. Half-a-dozen major league teams have seen fit to employ Jay Payton, and he's closing in on 1200 games for his career. He's started for a pennant winner, and most of the "negative" incidents he's been involved in that I recall involved him simply voicing a desire to play. The thing with Mora last year involved him getting upset about an ill-advised play hurting the Orioles chances to win a ballgame.

Heck, I'm sorry he hasn't produced more during his time in an Orioles uniform, but I think that has more to do with him entering his mid-30's than being a problem child or bad teammate.

Fans may buy the right to yell pretty much anything they want when they purchase a ticket, but I think the players should be able to yell back, or flip a digit if they prefer to conserve their voice.

[Boy Howdy]

Does it take a corporate PC robot to know not to flip the bird to fans? That's more of a sign of maturity and self-restraint. I see your point, but I'm not so sure it applies to this situations(if it's true).

I doubt Payton was flipping the bird to the fans.

Wouldn't surprise me at all if he flipped it at some deserving loudmouth.

[utvolzac]

Even assuming everything in the OP is exactly true, I really can't muster any righteous indignation about this.

Baseball needs more players behaving like actual human beings rather than corporate PC robots IMO.

It's not about acting human, it's about acting like a professional. If you work at Burger King and a customer complains about the service, and you flick them off. You'd get fired.

Fans are the consumer, albeit often too arrogant and picky, but the consumer no less. You can't have players going around flicking off the fans. Especially when you factor in all the "innocent bystanders" that also witnessed it.

Gotta be more professional, bottom line. Showing emotion is one thing, disrespecting the franchise is another. IF true, he should be fined by management.

[blueberryale77]

Not attacking you, per se. Just the people who are hearing information second-hand and jumping all over the guy.

If you had substituted "Nick Markakis" or "Brian Roberts" in for "Jay Payton" in your original post, I doubt most people on here would react the way they did with Jay. Not defending the man if that is what he did, but it's an unfair double standard.

Maybe one of the many reasons most fans like Roberts and Markakis better than Payton is that they tend to conduct themselves like mature, adult professionals at least in public? :scratchchinhmm:

[HarryReasonable]

Digitus impudicus goes back to the Romans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_finger

Any chance that the question was just rhetorical?

[tennOsfan]

Brady Anderson did this the best I've ever seen it. I was in the left field seats in 2001 when a couple of Red Sox fans (the Red Sox weren't even in town) were giving him down the road. Without turning around, Brady simply raised his glove and pointed with his other hand to the middle finger of the glove.

Not really a bird, but it had the same effect a more creative and less offensive way.

[ScottieBaseball]

Maybe this will clear things up for youhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=Oi9QW1KW1TE

Ugh...Dane Cook?!?! I think I'd rather you'd have Rick-rolled us.

[Big Mac]

I've bookmarked this thread for when it turns out that Payton was actually just adjusting his hat.

I was sitting in section 80 in LF. 8 rows back, and I can assure everyone that Jay was definitley NOT just adjusting his hat.

He clearly gave the fan the finger, I'm 100% sure.

[Moose Milligan]

Ehhh, whatever.

I'm not making excuses for it, but it's not a shocker when an athlete acts like an idiot these days.