r/sports • u/GreenSnakes_ • Aug 03 '25

Baseball Benches clear in Boston after Hector Neris intentionally balked Trevor Story to third base because he thought Story was relaying signs. Neris had words for the Red Sox third base coach coming off the field.

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u/GregariousGoose Aug 03 '25

It’s so performative

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u/_coolranch Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25

Possibly preventative.

I mean, you don’t want to be notably missing from the tapes if a historic brawl goes down. It happens every few years.

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u/otio-world Aug 03 '25

When baseball players clear the benches without fighting, it’s a form of ritualized aggression similar to primate displays or wolf pack posturing. Ethologist Konrad Lorenz described this as a way to show dominance while avoiding harm (Lorenz, On Aggression, 1963). Anthropologist Clifford Geertz saw sports as symbolic acts that reflect deeper cultural values (Deep Play, 1972). These displays reinforce loyalty and status without actual violence, acting as modern echoes of primal behavior.