So the Blue Jays and Rangers got into it Sunday afternoon. But that was nothing. Here are 10 of my favorite basebrawls of all time — or, at least those that are officially available on YouTube via Major League Baseball. (For example, some famous brawls don’t have official video posted, like the Juan Marichal-Johnny Roseboro bat incident from 1965, or the White Sox-Tigers brawl — actually, there were two of them — from April 2000 that resulted in 16 suspensions. Although you can watch one of those here.) Not that I condone fighting! Just a reminder: This is what happens when you let the players police themselves.
Oh, yes, you will kill your entire afternoon now scrolling through baseball fights. You’re welcome. Note also the repeat appearances of several individuals throughout these videos.
10. Yankees-Red Sox, 2003 ALCS
Yes, this rivalry has lost some intensity. This is the famous Pedro Martinez-Don Zimmer throwdown, although there wasn’t actually much brawling. Don’t forget it’s cousin, the Alex Rodriguez-Jason Varitek brawl from 2004.
9. Cardinals-Reds, August 10, 2010
This one was unique because it started with a simple war of words between Yadier Molina and Brandon Phillips, got ugly with managers Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker — two guys who don’t like each other — pointing fingers and then it escalated. In the midst of the brawl, Johnny Cueto kicked Reds catcher Jason LaRue in the head, causing a concussion — one of many LaRue suffered in his career — that forced LaRue to retire at the end of the season.
8. George Brett clocks Graig Nettles, 1977 ALCS
The best thing about this one: It happened in Game 5 of the ALCS, back when the ALCS was best-of-5. Game 5! Season on the line! And Brett just decides to punch Nettles. Neither Brett nor Nettles even got ejected, because this was the 1970s.
7. Red Sox-Yankees, May 20, 1976
This one is great because it started with Lou Piniella — taking the widest turn around third base you’ll ever see — and Carlton Fisk, two big names who weren’t going to back down from anybody. Fisk appears to get in a pretty good jab to Piniella’s face at the start. Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee would hurt his shoulder in this one, and you can see him straggling off the field at the end of the video.
6. Diamondbacks-Dodgers, June 11, 2013
Yasiel Puig — just up from the minors a week before — gets hit in the head or the nose or near the nose or maybe the eyelashes, so Zack Greinke plunks Miguel Montero in the back. Ian Kennedy then throws at Greinke’s head. What makes this one so fascinating is the Mark McGwire-Matt Williams coaching standoff, managers Don Mattingly and Kirk Gibson hurling insults, and Diamondbacks coach Don Baylor still looking like the baddest dude on the field. Hey, it’s not their fault: They were products of the 1980s. Teams fought all the time back then!
5. Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura and Rangers-White Sox, August 4, 1993
Do not mess with Nolan Ryan.
4. Mets-Reds, July 22, 1986
We had to get a fight with the 1986 Mets in there since they had like 57 different brawls that year. And that was just on the field. In this one, Eric Davis and Ray Knight get tangled up at third after Davis steals third and Knight shows off the punching skills that made him an amateur boxing champ. Good times!
3. Mariners-Orioles, June 6, 1993
I’d forgotten how good this one was, with multiple breakouts going on throughout the brawl. It all started when Mike Mussina hit Bill Haselman (who had homered earlier). Mariners pitcher Chris Bosio, who had recently returned from a broken collarbone, re-broke it in the fight. At one point, Baltimore police came on the field to help break it up, but the umpires ordered them just to keep the fans off the field. The game was delayed 20 minutes.
“You don’t expect fights to last that long. You just expect the one pileup, then that’s it,” Haselman said. “After the first pile, I thought it was done. Then I looked over and another fight broke out, and then another one.”
This was also the closest Cal Ripken would ever come to missing a game during his streak, as he showed up the next day thinking he wouldn’t be able to play because of a sore knee.
2. Orioles-Yankees, May 19, 1998
After Armando Benitez gave up a go-ahead three-run home run to Bernie Williams in the eighth inning, he decided to plunk Tino Martinez in the back. Martinez didn’t charge the mound after what Yankees announcer Jim Kaat labeled a “real cheap shot,” but the benches emptied and then things got ugly as the meet-and-greet eventually turned into a huge brawl that spilled into the dugout. Darryl Strawberry was in the middle of things (at the 6-minute mark you can see him sucker-punch a left hook at Benitez), Orioles reliever Norm Charlton is seen with his jersey ripped off and current Yankees manager and then-catcher Joe Girardi didn’t appear too interested in breaking things up. The Yankees of this era had more than a few brawls. I remember being at another big one in the Kingdome that started with Paul O’Neill, and Strawberry went wild in that one as well.
1. Padres-Braves, August 12, 1984
The brawl to end all brawls. The Padres, upset that Braves pitcher Pascual Perez started the game by hitting Alan Wiggins in the back, threw at Perez four different times in the game. The brawl would feature fans on the field, Bob Horner fighting while wearing a cast, Champ Summers going berserk, plus another brawl in the ninth inning after the Braves retaliated. Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams of the Padres was given a 10-game suspension and Braves manager Joe Torre would get three games and call Williams an “idiot” after the game and compare him to Hitler. Torre would later call it the most embarrassing moment of his career. Once again, the 1980s, everyone!
