During his 14-season MLB career, Darin Erstad was the quintessential grinder. He played all out all the time, and rarely did he finish a game with a clean uniform. Erstad was a "play the game the right way" darling.

Not surprisingly, Erstad has the same mentality at the University of Nebraska, where he has been the head baseball coach since 2011. On Friday, Erstad pulled shortstop Angelo Altavilla from the game because he didn't like the way Altavilla admired a home run and flipped his bat. Here is the home run and bat flip in question:

On a scale of one to Odubel Herrera, Altavilla's bat flip is about a Yasiel Puig. Noteworthy, but certainly not the most egregious we've seen.

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The catcher took offense to Altavilla's bat flip, jawing at him before the umpire intervened. The look on Erstad's face as Altavilla returned to the dugout pretty much says it all. He was not happy with the home run pimp job.

Altavilla was pulled from the game and the Cornhuskers went on to win 5-2 -- the same score after Altavilla's homer.

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I long for the days when bat flips are accepted and home runs are admired for being the work of art they are. It's baseball. Lighten up a little.