Can’t Both Teams Just Have Fun?

Baseball isn’t a contact sport, so the last thing you expect is thrown hands and cleared benches. But the MLB has known its fair share of heated exchanges—rivalries and bad blood quickly turn fun games at the park into all-out brawls. Come with us as we step back into the biggest fights baseball has ever seen. 

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1. Juan Marichal and John Roseboro, 1965

After days of tension, things finally reached a head between Roseboro and Marichal…especially for Marichal’s head, which was apparently grazed by a thrown ball. After getting nicked in the ear by Roseboro’s throw, the two quickly began arguing before Marichal swung his bat at Roseboro. Benches cleared, blood was spilled, and Roseboro needed stitches by the end of it. (He was also suspended and fined.)

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2. Bert Campaneris and Lerrin LaGrow, 1972

Campaneris was having a great game until LaGrow drilled him in the ankle on a pitch. Well, that was all it took for the A’s batter to whip his bat at the mound, inciting boos and a flood of umpires to break up the would-be brawl. The benches cleared, and both Campaneris and LaGrow were suspended. 

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3. Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson, 1973

What seemed like a routine double-play against the Reds was anything but during one of the biggest fights on the field. Tempers flared thanks to Harrelson’s comment just days prior, and when Rose aggressively slid into second base, it wasn’t long before they started swinging and the bases cleared. The whole thing lasted for about ten minutes. 

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4. Ten-Cent Beer Night, 1974 

Sometimes, the biggest fights happen in the stands, and as it turns out, rowdy fans and ten-cent beers don’t mix. This Cleveland Stadium matchup basically turned into Thunderdome—fans pulled knives and attacked players, players grabbed bats and attacked fans, and the whole thing went on for about 20 minutes before police were called to the scene. 

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5. Red Sox and Yankees, 1976

Some say Lou Piniella intentionally crashed into home plate. Others say Carlton Fisk blocked it. Wherever you stand, the Sox and Yankees have been at each other’s throats for years, and it didn’t take much in the ‘70s for a fist fight to start and benches to clear. What made this particularly tragic was that even after staff managed to break it up, the whole thing restarted after Bill Lee got suckerpunched. 

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6. George Brett and Graig Nettles, 1977 

When you tune into baseball, you aren’t expecting any swift kicks. However, all bets are off in a brawl, and this ‘77 duster started when Brett threw a quick kick to Nettles’ head after he made it to third base. Nettles quickly got up and started throwing punches, but oddly enough, the whole thing ended as quickly as it started, and everyone walked away without an ejection. 

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7. Braves and Padres, 1984

Where were you during the ‘84 bean brawl? You may remember the benches-clearing battle after Craig Lefferts’ pitch, but tensions rose well before then. When Pascual Pérez was eventually nailed in the elbow, he didn’t even have to join the fight; everyone, including the fans, got involved, and it became one of the worst brawls in baseball history. Fans were arrested, players got ejected, and fans never forgot it. 

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8. Robin Ventura and Nolan Ryan, 1993

Ryan may have been in his 40s, but that’s no reason to pick fights with him. It’s a lesson Ventura quickly learned after getting hit with a pitch and charging Ryan on the mound. Ryan immediately wrapped him in a headlock and started punching before the benches cleared. 

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9. Mike Mussina and Bill Haselman, 1993 

In 1993, Haselman was plunked by a pitch before storming the mound. Blink and you would’ve missed it, but an ugly brawl broke out and cleared the benches. Much like the Sox and Yankees fight, this one restarted after it cooled down, and players walked away with swollen noses and needing stitches. 

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10. Pedro Martinez and Mike Williams, 1996

You can’t say ‘90s baseball wasn’t exciting. Backs rose when Martinez nailed Gregg Jeffries and took him out of the game, but the benches cleared when Williams retaliated. The umpires handed out warnings, but they weren’t enough to prevent Martinez from charging the mound and starting a brawl. 

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11. Armando Benitez and Tino Martinez, 1998

After giving up a three-run homer to the Yanks, Benitez intentionally hit Martinez during his next at-bat. The Yankees’ bench immediately cleared, and Benitez tried to fluff it off, but it was too late. Players flooded the field, and both Martinez and Darryl Strawberry had to be restrained before the dust settled. The whole thing ended with suspensions. 

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12. Chan Ho Park and Tim Belcher, 1999 

Who honestly expects to see a drop kick in baseball? On a sacrifice bunt no less! Belcher tagged Park, and it seemed like a routine play before Belcher started mouthing off. Park then literally spun and kicked him before Belcher hammered his own blows, and the benches cleared. 

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13. Jeff Weaver and Mike Sweeney, 2001

When someone asks you to move your rosin bag…maybe just oblige them. Either that or prepare for a benches-clearing brawl, which is what Weavers did. On two separate occasions, the Royals asked to check Weaver’s bag, and when Sweeney brought it up a third time during his at-bat, Weaver finally snapped. Helmets were thrown, mounds were charged, and just when things cooled off, Robert Fick threw another punch to start it all over again. 

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14. Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer, 2003

Oh boy, they’re at it again! Beaning a guy never looks good, but both teams were accused of it in this ‘03 incident. The Sox almost nailed a guy, then the Sox almost got nailed, and sure enough, a fire cleared the benches. In the chaos, bench coach (and 72-year-old) Zimmer charged Martinez only to swiftly get thrown to the ground. 

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15. Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez, 2004

Fans everywhere remember A-Rod’s infamous scrap with Varitek. In case you missed it, this fight started after Rodriguez was hit by Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo. A-Rod glared at the mound, mouthing a few choice words on his way to first before Varitek stepped in. Sure enough, the two went at it, and benches cleared.  

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16. Michael Barrett and A.J. Pierzynski, 2006

In this infamous ‘06 matchup, Pierzynski collided with Barrett at home plate when he slid in for a run. He tried to walk off the field, but Barrett grabbed hold of him and immediately threw a punch. As you can imagine, the argument started a benches-clearing brawl. 

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17. Chris Volstad and Nyjer Morgan, 2010

A wild pitch is usually an open invitation for runners to advance, but Morgan took exception to a ball soaring past him and charged the mound instead. Though…he probably should’ve walked away. He barely had time to reach Volstad before basically getting clotheslined into a dogpile of Marlins. 

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18. Cardinals and Reds, 2010

When you say you hate the Cardinals, you can’t expect them to stay quiet. Molina certainly didn’t, and when Brandon Phillips reached the plate, the two exchanged words before the benches cleared. Initially, it seemed quick to fizzle out, but more shouting ensued, and a mob of players started roughhousing. 

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19. José Bautista and Rougned Odor, 2016

Bautista and Odor had their fair share of career scraps, but the two were at each other’s throats in 2016. Tensions were already pretty high after Bautista’s bat flip, and when he made a hard slide into Odor at second, the two stared each other down before Odor threw a punch. Odor was charged with a seven-game suspension. 

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20. Amir Garrett and the Pirates, 2019

What started as a mound visit degenerated into fists flying in this red-hot matchup. Fans already knew someone would blow, especially after Garrett entered the game and began hurling choice words at the Pirates. Pittsburgh didn’t take kindly to that, chirping him from the dugout before Garrett charged them. The fight went on for a few minutes before settling—only for David Bell and Yasiel Puig to kick things off again, 

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