In my business, that knee-jerk response comes in handy. Fending off blame is a survival skill. A columnist knows he can’t fight a tidal wave of angry emails and social-media posts and, at some point, gives up trying to argue that he is not, in fact, a nitwit. From there, it’s a short hop to a renunciation of any personal responsibility.

Ichiro Suzuki said he wants to meet with the one person who voted against his induction into the Hall of Fame after he fell one vote shy of being unanimous.