The Athletics remind us why it’s important to always wear a cup

If you’re going to play baseball, you better wear a cup. In fact, that might be rule No. 1 when it comes to the game. Nobody should ever experience what Adrian Beltre had to deal with when he was hit while not wearing one.

Beltre’s division-rival Oakland Athletics seem to understand this. That’s probably why they decided to conduct a cup check during Thursday’s game. 

That’s Oakland reliever, and occasional closer, Sean Doolittle. It looks as though he may have failed the test. Doolittle at least has somewhat of an excuse. He’s currently on the disabled list, so it’s not like he’s being reckless while on the field.

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And now, a brief aside. When I played Little League, my coach would occasionally line us all up on the bench for a cup check. This involved lightly tapping each of us with a bat in order to make sure you were wearing a cup. If you had forgotten your cup that day, you were definitely telling him before it was your turn.

The lesson here: Always wear a cup, kids! Also, some of your coaches may actually be insane people.

(BLS H/N: Deadspin)

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik