Baseball is and always has been a relatively clean sport, with the only contact between players occurring through light tags and the occasional collision at home plate. However, every year, there’s always a few bench-clearing brawls which often begin with a good old one-one-one fight. Even though there have been hundreds, maybe thousands, of bench clearing incidents, there’s a few that have become ingrained in the baseball fan’s memory.
#10 Brawls Will Not Be Tolerated
The first fight on the list comes from the pandemic shortened 2020 season, in which MLB stressed how important social distancing was and that no brawls would tolerated. But the fight had to go on. It happened in a game in Oakland between the Astros when pitcher Humberto Castellanos accidentally hit A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano with a breaking ball that didn’t break. Laureano, who had already been hit twice in the series, was visibly frustrated and let Castellanos know he needed to break that pitch off better. He had no intention of starting a fight at this point. Then, Astros coach Alex Cintron provoked A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano into charging the dugout, and he obliged.
Laureano never got to Cintron so the one on one fight didn’t happen, but it caused a bench-clearing brawl in the midst of the 2020 season, which infuriated MLB. In the aftermath of the incident, Cintron was suspended 20 games and given a large fine while Laureano was suspended 6 games. Laureano said he had no interest in starting a fight until Cintron said something derogatory about his mother.
#9 Bryce Harper vs Hunter Strickland
Coming in at #10 is a 2017 fight whose roots go all the way back to the 2014 NLDS. It was during Game 2 when Harper hit a home run off Strickland in a game that the Giants went on to win. In Game 4, he hit another bomb off Strickland and didn’t run right away, probably because he wasn’t sure if if was fair or foul. The Giants ended up winning that game as well. In fact, they won the NLDS and eventually the World Series. Surely, by the time these two faced each other again 3 years later, those home runs were a distant memory. Apparently, not for Strickland.
Strickland threw a 98 MPH right at Harper’s hip, causing Harper to charge the mound. There was no tension between the teams and this really was in retribution for a the NLDS home runs 3 years prior. Notice how Buster Posey barely reacts, probably because the whole thing is so ridiculous and not worth getting hurt over. During the brawl, Michael Morse suffered a concussion and never played again. Years later, Harper said there was no ill-will and he appreciated that Strickland didn’t try to aim for his head; he just wanted a fight – and he got one.
#8 F*** You
During the 2004 season, tensions between the Yankees and Red Sox were extremely high as they faced off at Fenway park in July. These teams had recently been involved in a postseason 2003 brawl that will appear a bit later on this list. The Yankees were in first place and the Red Sox in second, looking for a big spark in the second half. Perhaps they found that spark when Alex Rodriguez was hit by a Bronson Arroyo pitch and was not happy. I’m no professional lip-reader but I think we can all make out what he is saying here. Catcher Jason Varitek had some choice words for A-Rod and here’s what happened next.
It wasn’t a fair fight at first as Varitek kept his mask on for a while . Meanwhile, Tanyon Sturtze faced off against current Giants manager Gabe Kapler. Trot Nixon jumped in and got involved as well. Some other big names involved in the action included Curt Schilling and David Ortiz. When the smoke cleared, Strutze was seen bleeding from the forehead. It was an insane brawl and the Red Sox went on to win the game in walkoff fashion. They got hot from there and eventually went on to beat the Yankees in the ALCS despite being down 3 games to none and of course broke the Curse of the Bambino, winning their first World Series since 1918. Rodriguez and Varitek were suspended 4 games each and fined $2,000 while Kapler and Sturtze were suspended three games each and handed $1,000 fines.
#7 Benitez vs. Martinez
On May 19th, 1998, the New York Yankees were taking on the last place Baltimore Orioles. Before the game even started, the umpiring crew got word that something might be brewing and to be ready. However, by the 8th inning, the O’s were up by 3 and everything seemed normal. That is, until Armando Benitez allowed a 3-run home run by Bernie Williams to tie the game. Benitez, known for his hot temper, threw the next pitch at 98 miles per hour up directly at Tino Martinez. Benitez dropped his glove, put his hands up and basically dared the Yankee dugout to come on out. They did.
For a moment it looked like it would be just another bench clearing incident but when the Yankee bullpen arrived at the scene, it was on as they immediately started to throw down with Benitez. This started a chain reaction and before long, it was an all-out brawl. A young Joe Giardi was involved as was the powerful Darryl Strawberry. The fight went deep into the dugout and created a wild scene so out of control the umpires just backed off, knowing there was nothing they could do about it. Eventually, order was restored, but in the aftermath, Benitez was suspended for 8 games. “It was one of the worst brawls I have ever been in,” said umpire Drew Coble. “At one time, it was from dugout to dugout.”
#6 The Batflip Heard Round The World
It was the 2015 American League Division Series and the Toronto Blue Jays were in the playoffs for the first time since they won it all back in 1993, facing the Texas Rangers. The best of 5 series was tied at 2 games a piece in the 7th inning of a tie-game when Jose Bautista connected with an massive 3-run bomb and unleashed one of the greatest bat flips of all time. The batflip angered many of the Rangers players, including Roghned Odor, but there was not much they could do it about it at that time. Fast-forward to May of the 2016 season, when the two teams faced off. The Rangers had not forgotten the bat-flip, and Matt Bush hit Bausita with a pitch. He took first without incident, but when Bausista slid in extra hard and late into Odor at second base, it was on.
Odor landed one of the most solid punches thrown in MLB history, caught perfectly on a high definition recording. Eight players were suspended and 14 ejected. Odor was suspended for 8 games, eventually reduced to 7 games and Bautista was suspended for one game.
#5 Pedro vs Zimmer
Coming in at #4 is one of the most insane moments in MLB history – and yes, I do have a ranking of those moments as well, and this one made the list. It was a series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and ghings started to heat up when an up and in pitch thrown by Pedro Martinez hit Karim Garcia in the 4th inning. A few minutes later, Garcia slid hard into second which resulted in a shoving match and emptying of dugouts. Later, Roger Clemens threw up and in to Manny Ramirez, although honestly if you look at the replay, the pitch wasn’t overly aggressive. It was slightly up and slightly in, but Ramirez took offense anyway and started this all-time brawl in which 72-Year old Yankee coach Don Zimmer wanted a piece of Pedro and went straight for him. Martinez sidestepped, grabbed Zimmer’s head and threw him to the ground. It was an incredible and horrifying scene to watch an active young MLB player throw an old man to the ground. Of course, Zimmer was the one who charged Martinez and is lucky Martinez didn’t seriously hurt him. Martinez later said it was the lowest moment of his career. To make matters more insane, a few innings later, Yankee pitcher Jeff Nelson got into a fight with a Fenway Park employee in the bullpen and Karim Garcia hopped in to assist him. This was an all-time insane moment and one of the most memorable fights in MLB history.
#4 Ruth’s Yankees vs. Cobb’s Tigers
There was a time when the Yankees and Tigers had a bit of a rivalry going on, mainly because the Yankees had Babe Ruth and the Tigers had Ty Cobb, the two biggest stars of the game. However, they were two very different types of players. Ruth was a pure power hitter, who believed in swinging as hard as you can every time, always going for the fences. This disturbed Cobb, who believed it was a brute way to approach the game. He believed in doing what was best for the moment – whether that be a walk, single or extra-base it. He considered himself an artist with the bat, not a monster like Ruth. This was a the main fuel for a feud between the two that reached a climax during a game between the two teams on June 13th, 1924 in Detroit. At this point in time, Ty Cobb was both a player and manager. Tensions were high throughout the game as both dugouts hurled insults at the other team.
In the 9th inning, Babe Ruth led off. The first pitch from Bert Cole was up near his head. Both the second and third pitches also narrowly missed him. Ruth pointed towards Cobb in centerfield and started yelling at him before eventually popping out. The first pitch to the next batter, Bob Meusel, hit him in the ribs. He slammed down his bat and charged the mound. Both dugouts emptied and fists were flying everywhere as the umpires tried to restore order. Just as things began to calm down, Ruth heard an insult from the Tigers dugout and charged. More fights broke out from there and fans began to rush the field to get involved as well. One fan engaged in a fight with an umpire. The ump knocked him out with one solid roundhouse punch. The fighting went on for about 25 minutes until police finally arrived. The game was never resumed. Bert Cole and Bob Meusel were suspended while Ruth was fined. Ruth and Cobb may have never squared off directly during the fight, but the tensions between the two players was a large factor in this insane brawl taking place that day in Detroit.
#3 Marichal vs. Roseboro
Coming in at #3 is the probably the ugliest and most disturbing brawl in MLB history. It happened at Candlestick Park on August 22nd, 1965. The Giants and Dodgers were in a pennant race and emotions were running hot, but no one could have predicted what what happen as pitcher Juan Marichal stepped up the plate. After the second pitch, a ball low and away, Dodgers catcher John Roseboro threw the ball back to the pitcher faster than usual, right by Marichal’s ear. Marichal confronted the catcher, they exchanged a few words, then things quickly got out of control and in an unprecedented move, Juan Marichal began to hit Roseboro with his bat. He got in at least one strong blow to the head before umpire Shag Crawford, along with Sandy Koufax and others were able to stop Marichal and pry his bat away. Meanwhile, a brawl broke out as Roseboro bled from a 2-inch gash on his head. That didn’t stop Roseboro from trying to get back at Marichal, but Willie Mays stopped him and tended to his head. Mays was later credited with keeping the brawl from becoming an all out riot. Roseboro eventually needed 14 stitches. Years later, he admitted to intentionally throwing close to Marichal’s head because Marichal had been brushing back so many Dodger hitters. After the brawl, Marichal was suspended 8 games and fined $1,750. Roseboro missed 3 games, but made a fully recovery, although later he sued Marichal, eventually settling for $7,500. Years later, the two became friends and appeared in old timers games and golf tournaments together.
#2 San Diego vs Atlanta
Coming in at #2 was not just a single brawl, but one of the most wild sequences of brawls and fights between two teams in MLB history. The troubles started on August 11th, 1984 when the Padres infielder Alan Wiggins kept trying to bunt for a base hit. Pascual Perez had seen enough and began yelling at Wiggins to swing the bat. Some yelling took place but no brawls. Still, tensions were already in the air when the final game in the series took place on August 12th. Perez faced Wiggins and sure enough beaned him. Words were exchanged but benches did not empty. That is, until Perez came to the plate and Padres pitcher Ed Whitson tried to hit him. Benches cleared, but no punches were thrown. In the 4th, they tried to hit Perez again and failed, resulting in the ejection of Whitson and Padres manager Dick Williams. In the 6th, it was reliever Greg Booker’s turn to try and hit Perez. He missed and was ejected along with the second Padres manager of the evening, Ozzie Virgil Sr. Finally, in the 8th, Craig Lefferts succeeded in beaning Perez, which led to a bench-clearing brawl. The third Padres manager, Jack Krol, was ejected along with Lefferts and multiple other players. Multiple punches were thrown and the scene got so wild, it looked like the game might be forfeited. Instead, it was eventually resumed, but Donnie Moore hit Graig Nettles in the 9th and the fight resumed. Braves Manager Joe Torre, who almost made it through the game, was ejected as were several more players including Tim Flannery and Goose Gossage. One Padres player, Kurt Bevacqua, was hit by a beercan from the seats and charged the crowd. A total of 17 players, managers and coaches had been ejected at this point and, amazingly, Pascual Perez and Alan Willgins never were. Five fans were also taken away in handcuffs. Incredibly, the game once again continued and the Braves eventually won. Padres manager Dick Williams was suspended 10 games and fined $10,000 while Joe Torre missed 3 games and was fined $1,000. After the game, the umpiring crew chief John McSherry said, “I’ve never seen violence like that. It’s a miracle somebody didn’t get seriously hurt. It took baseball down 50 years. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. It was pathetic, absolutely pathetic.”
#1 Don’t Mess With Texas
Coming in at #1 on my list of the top 10 MLB fights of all time has to be one of the most iconic images in MLB history. It occurred on August 4th, 1993, in a game between the Rangers and White Sox. Tensions had been high between the two rivals all season long. But soon, things would go beyond trash talking. In this particular game, Robin Ventura had already driven in a run to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. A bit later, White Sox pitcher Alex Fernandez hit Juan Gonzalez with a pitch. Then, Robin Ventura stepped up to the plate against Nolan Ryan and sure enough, the retribution pitch came up and in and hit Ventura on the back. At first, it looked like he was going to just take his base. Then, he charged Ryan – a bad idea.
Ryan landed 6 good blows to Ventura’s face before Ivan Rodriguez was able to break them up. Benches cleared the brawl was on, but regardless of what would happen after benches cleared, the iconic moment of the day was set in stone when Ryan had Ventura in a headlock and landed punch after punch after punch. T-shirts are still available to this day. Ventura and White Sox manager Gene Lamont were ejected, but surprisingly, Nolan Ryan was allowed to continue. The reason was that he never left the mound and only defended himself when the attacker arrived. Also, perhaps the umpires didn’t want to find out what would happen if they did try to eject him.
And that does it for today’s list of 10 of the greatest fights in MLB history. Let me know any others that I missed as there have been many classic brawls and fights that have occurred over the course of MLB history. Thank you so much for checking out today’s video; please hit the subscribe and thumbs up button. Have a wonderful day and we’ll talk to you in the next one.