Baseball players got real mad Wednesday

For as much as the game of baseball has evolved over its entire history and particularly in the last decade or two, some things just never change. One example of that is with the beanball wars that happen every year, and that part of the game was on full display Wednesday.

The second fight is the one that will be the most high-profile because of the teams involved. The Red Sox and Yankees had their benches clear early in Wednesday’s game when Tyler Austin slid spikes-up into Brock Holt’s ankle, but nothing really happened. The two sides just chatted it up for a minute. That changed when Austin came up later in the game. Joe Kelly tried to hit him once, missed, then got him in the back a few pitches later.

All hell broke loose, and Whitney broke it down here.

Earlier in the day out on the other coast, there was yet another fight, and like the one between the Red Sox and Yankees it was more of a “real” fight than we are used to. This time, it was the Rockies and Padres, but the cause and effect wasn’t as clear in this one. Presumably, San Diego came into this game angry as they’ve been hit by many Rockies pitchers this year and outfielder Manuel Margot was put on the disabled list the day before after being hit by a Rockies pitcher. Everyone pretty much agrees that Colorado wasn’t intentionally throwing at San Diego hitters; the ball just got away. Apparently you still have to send a message, and the Padres did that by throwing at Nolan Arenado. Here’s Whitney’s breakdown on that one, which included some glove throwing.

The idea of fighting in baseball is a bit complicated. I, and I think most baseball fans, generally enjoy when two sides are on the field in a brawl, as long as no one is going too crazy and especially when it involves division rivals as both of these did.

It’s acknowledged as childish, but it’s an guilty-pleasure type deal. The issue is what leads to these fights is almost always a pitcher throwing at a batter, and pitchers throwing 95-plus MPH baseballs at hitters is dangerous, dumb, and inexcusable. If you watch enough baseball you know all pitchers miss their spots often enough that we can’t trust them to “do it the right way” and hit them in the back every time. Of course, the players will be suspended for a few games, but the punishment won’t be too harsh because the league actually loves this. From one side of their mouth they chastise and suspend the players, but on the other side they promote the fights on social media and probably will be doing so for a few days. Of course, I’m also promoting the donnybrooks too, so who am I to talk?