Cole Hamels Broke Only One Of Baseball's Unwritten Rules [UPDATE: And Now He's Suspended]

Much has been made of young Bryce Harper's first few days in the majors. He has a cannon for an arm. He gets on base. He makes good with the locals. He steals home. And now he's caused the Phillies' Cole Hamels to pull off what Nationals GM Mike Rizzo considers the most " classless, gutless chickenshit act" in his 30 years in baseball. Well, before this blows up any further, we decided to consult our dusted-off copy of Baseball's Unwritten Rules, otherwise known as a random issue of Baseball Digest from 1986.

According to an informal Deadspin investigation, it appears Hamels only broke one unwritten rule.

1. Never put the tying or go-ahead run on base.

With outfielder Jayson Werth on the DL for at least three months, Harper probably isn't going back to AAA any time soon (if ever). Suddenly, the Nationals' three-game series in Philly starting May 21 is looking a lot more interesting.

UPDATE (5:10 p.m.): And now Hamels is suspended for five games. That's what honesty will get you, although because of the Phillies' schedule, Hamels may not actually miss any starts. Baseball is weird.