Oscar moments on the baseball diamond

Bostonians are torn by Derek Jeter's recent acting moment at home plate -- when he pretended to be hit by a pitch when the ball actually hit the bat. (See video below.) Of course, Red Sox Nation wants to hate the Yankees. The Nation wants to hate Jeter, too, as the embodiment of their arch-rivals, but there has always been a grudging admiration for this spectacular athlete. When he pulled off this feat, my unscientific survey suggests that more people than not in this town found real pleasure in how well he did it.



Bob Ryan at the Boston Globe offers his thoughts on the "morality" of this kind of move, in general and by Jeter.

But let's be clear. If it had happened in a game against the Red Sox, Derek would have been hung in effigy throughout the city. Just ask Alex Rodriguez after the 2004 ALCS game at Yankee Stadium. Even though ARod got caught.

If you can't see the video, click here.