
However, batters didn't use to go for strolls after bad calls to the degree
they do now.  


Everyone was told of the new emphasis on speeding up games.  The rule that
Hirschbeck invoked has been in the books a long time.


Nobody, including Hirschbeck, ever said he was. 



That's your (perhaps colored by your partisanship of the Braves)
perception.  Hirschbeck's view was that Gant was heading off for a long
walk, and in accordance with his instructions concerning speeding games up,
directed him into the batter's box.


The point is, based on the rulebook and the umpires' instructions, it was
*not* an unreasonable request.

The Braves were already upset


Had Gant done as instructed, you wouldn't have remembered the name of the
umpire.  