“I hope kids watching the WBC can watch the way we play the game and appreciate the way we play the game, as opposed to the way Puerto Rico plays or the Dominican [Republic] plays,” Kinsler said. “That’s not taking anything away from them. That just wasn’t the way we were raised.

“They were raised differently and to show emotion and passion when you play. We do show emotion; we do show passion. But we just do it in a different way.”

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Kinsler may ended his remarks with “in a different way,” but a lot of people read it as “the right way.” Baseball is known for its unofficial “code,” one that discourages excessive displays of emotion, or anything that might be considered “showboating.”

Then the game started and went a couple of scoreless innings, before Kinsler put a couple of runs on the board in a theoretically exciting way, via a home run.

At that moment, plenty of observers online had the same thought: Kinsler better not celebrate! Here is a sampling of some of the amusing Internet reaction:

Ian Kinsler looked so ecstatic about hitting a home run in the championship game of the WBC pic.twitter.com/xS3LiQQZeL — Kendall GO USA

Reporter to Ian Kinsler: "How are you feeling after hitting that 2-run homer to put USA on the board?" Ian: pic.twitter.com/DnfNokzNkD — Kendall GO USA

True to his words, Kinsler displayed little emotion as he rounded the bases and made his way into the dugout, where he finally cracked a smile. Meanwhile, after the home run, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Spanish-language broadcast team, “Those unwritten rules are going to change with the diversity of the league, and we should celebrate that.”

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In actuality, Kinsler had already modified his comments, telling ESPN, “What I said was that American kids can watch American players play, Puerto Rican kids can watch Puerto Rican players play, Venezuelan kids can watch Venezuelan guys play, and that’s who they emulate. That’s who they watch. That’s who they want to be like. There’s nothing wrong with an American kid watching a Puerto Rican player and wanting to be like them, or a Puerto Rican kid watching an American player and wanting to play that way.

“You should play the way you want, and the way you feel will put you in the best position to win — the way you feel the best and perform the best,” Kinsler continued. “Everybody is different. I play differently than a lot of my teammates on this team; I play with a little more emotion than most players during the season. Everybody has their own style! That’s all I was saying.”

According to ESPN, when asked if he thinks Latin players go about the game the “wrong way,” with more exuberance than is appropriate, Kinsler replied, “Absolutely not.”

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“This is what this tournament is for, to demonstrate the game in all walks of life, all over the globe,” the Detroit Tigers infielder and four-time all-star said. “You saw the way Japanese players play; they play different than us. The Latin teams play different than us. Everyone should be celebrated. That is what this tournament is about, and that’s why everyone loves it, because you get to see people play [in front of] people from their own country and the different styles of baseball. One is not better than the other; they are just different.”

Of course, it’s one thing for baseball players from different countries to display some flair while representing their own countries in an international tournament, but Kinsler’s clarifying remarks could still leave room for an MLB culture that promotes a muted conformity. That culture has been tested not just by Latin players; homegrown stars such as Bryce Harper have also chafed against baseball’s code, with the Nationals star saying last year, “It’s a tired sport, because you can’t express yourself. You can’t do what people in other sports do.”