Believe it or not the New York Yankees and the Detroit
Tigers played a baseball game on Thursday afternoon. I know that was hard to
see in between all the fighting and with the benches clearing and all but they
did. No one will talk about the Yankees loss on that day but they will instead
talk about the incident of Gary Sanchez getting plunked, then Miguel Cabrera
getting plunked which led to Cabrera and Yankees catcher Austin Romine throwing
blows. The brawl was intense, although Sanchez’s timing in throwing a punch
when he is hitting so well and with the Yankees in the middle of a pennant race
can be debated back-and-forth all weekend if you want, but in my opinion this
brawl didn’t have anything on the brawls and fights I am prepared to show you
below.
On August 2, 1973 the Boston Red Sox and the New York
Yankees sparked the rivalry that would go on for years to come. I mean these
two teams have always been rivals but it was incidents like this that really
made the rivalry what it is today. With the game tied 2-2 in the top of the
ninth inning at Fenway Park the Yankees third baseman Thurman Munson charged
home from third base on an attempted squeeze play. Gene Michael ended up
missing the bunt attempt and Munson simply ran over Red Sox catcher Carlton
Fisk, something his Boston teammates did not take a liking to. Benches cleared,
punches were thrown and a rivalry was sparked. Again.
On May 20, 1976 the Yankees and the Red Sox went blow for
blow both in the box score and literally on the field. Lou Piniella rounded
third in the sixth inning against the Red Sox and when he saw the throw was
going to beat him he simply lowered his shoulder and barreled into Red Sox
catcher Carlton Fisk. Piniella grabbed hold of Fisk’s chest protector as the
two wrestled in the dirt before Fisk landed a right hook on Piniella. Graig
Nettles was also seen punching left-handed pitcher Bill Lee in the face from
Boston before cooler heads prevailed and the fight was broken up. Rivalry….
Renewed.
The brawl between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York
Yankees may have been the first brawl I think I ever witnessed live and in
person. It was May 19, 1998 and Orioles fire-baller Armando Benitez was on the
mound. I remember this because my favorite player at the time, Tino Martinez,
was at the plate when he got plunked with a fastball right in the middle of the
back in the first pitch Benitez threw after Bernie Williams hit a three-run
home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Benitez was immediately tossed out
of the game but that didn’t pacify Daryl Strawberry, Chad Curtis, Jeff Nelson
or Graeme Lloyd as everyone charged the mound and the playing field after the
incident. Strawberry had to be restrained by teammates as Benitez backed up and
ended up falling into the Orioles dugout. Graeme Lloyd was seen throwing
haymakers at Benitez and many Yankees and Orioles were ejected for doing the
same in what will probably go down as one of the best fights in Major League
Baseball history.
Remember that time Pedro Martinez picked on a 72-year old
man and bench coach named Don Zimmer like a pussy cat? I do, and call me bias
but I will never forget it because of that incident. Martinez had thrown at
Karim Garcia earlier in the game so Roger Clemens responded by throwing up and
in, not at because he was never hit, at Manny Ramirez which incited a brawl
between the two clubs. Can’t the Yankees and Red Sox get along? Now I’ll be
fair and point out that Zimmer did charge Martinez but Pedro did not have to
grab him by the head and throw him aside. Also I will be fair and state that in
his autobiography that Martinez did say “in my entire baseball career, my
reaction to Zimmer’s charge is my only regret” but still. It’s Pedro Martinez
and it’s the Red Sox, to hell with the Red Sox and to hell with Pedro. The
Yankees did walk off against the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS that season, the
Aaron Boone off Tim Wakefield home run, so I guess they got the last laugh
here.
Can anyone forget the Alex Rodriguez and Jason Varitek
incident on July 24, 2004 at Fenway Park? I know I will never. Bronson Arroyo
hit Alex and Rodriguez had his say on the matter as he was slowly walking
towards first base. Varitek, the Red Sox catcher, didn’t like Alex mouthing “f***
you” to his pitcher and shoved Alex in the face with both his hands which prompted
a wrestling match between the two and resulted in both benches clearing. This
was Alex’s first season in Yankees pinstripes and was a true introduction into
the rivalry after nearly being traded to the Red Sox the offseason prior. The
Red Sox reversed the curse of the Bambino in 2004 though so I guess who laughs
last laughs best, or something like that.
And I’ll end this post like this. How many of you think
Miguel Cabrera would have stepped to the Yankees catcher after getting hit if
that were Gary Sanchez back there? I don’t think he would have, and if he had
then in my opinion he is a moron and deserved to get knocked out. Period. But
that’s only if you ask me my opinion.
