Such sensibilities require time and commitment to take hold. So we rely on history, on the next generation and on some level of associative cooperation for the tricky task of pinpointing elusive parameters of respect. Any set of rules, especially unwritten ones, depends on adaptation that evolves after our own baseball-playing lifetime has expired.

Is this a good thing? Yes. We should be happy that grace is still considered a goal of fair play. How exactly that plays out is what causes much of this debate.

If the Orioles (in the above instance) are still trying to win by getting a base runner on, that is a noble cause. If the Twins are still trying to preserve their lead by shifting the defense, then so be it. No one really can complain about either team playing hard through the last out. After all, many a game has been won with just a strike left and one team’s back against the wall.

It just happened that the spirit of competing to the undying end — which is what we expect from big leaguers — created this unwritten moment. Bunting in the third inning while down 7-0 would not have prompted outrage. Not so in the ninth. Theoretically, a player versed in the unwritten lexicon should know when to say when.

There is some historical context. Unwritten rules fill in the blanks concrete law leaves us. Two major safety rules have come about since I retired in 2005: the “Posey rule,” which protects catchers at home plate from getting smashed by runners, and the “Utley rule,” which prohibits runners from targeting infielders. During my time, you could run the catcher over and wipe out the infielder on a double play, though you still had interference-regulating rules about going in “spikes high” or body-rolling or being required to reach the base when you slid.

The unwritten rules made us all accountable, not just the umpires and coaching staff, and through them players educated other players on caring about safety. Now that these rules have adapted to a world with less contact, players continue to share their nuances to underscore the importance of safety for all.