Baseball is not like hockey, soccer or football. I am a baseball player myself, but let’s admit the least amount of contact with opposing players happens in baseball. Baseball pretends to be tough sometimes with the almighty “bench clearing brawls.”
We have all heard this phrase used before when there is a little skirmish between a few players. There are rarely any punches thrown, yet alone enough action to describe it as a brawl. The latest incident between the Angels and Red Sox does not help with the toughness of the sport.
A strange decision by pitcher Josh Beckett started the incident. As the umpire called time, Beckett was already into his windup. Since the play was already dead, Beckett decided to complete his pitch, except he let his fastball fly a few inches over Bobby Abreu’s head as Abreu stepped out of the batter’s box. What ensued was anything but a brawl, I’m sure Girl Scouts put on a better show then some of these major leaguers when they are angry.
As in most cases, neither party looked like they were going to do much other than yap until people started acting like they had to separate them. Then of course the catcher and umpire decided to act like they needed to separate the two. Benches cleared, but nobody did anything, because in baseball it is apparently tougher to stare than to throw a punch.
As with most Major League Baseball “brawls,” once the two teams were calming down, someone had to run their mouth again for no reason — enter Josh Beckett. Beckett began yelling at Angels manager Mike Scioscia and the two teams were at it again. By the end of it all, no punches were thrown and somehow four other players were ejected. Beckett and Abreu were not part of those few.
What is the deal with these baseball fights? Should they even be called fights? There are a few exceptions in which some fights may actually register as a fight to many. The Yankee-Red Sox rivalry has had its share of good fights — at least punches were thrown and Pedro Martinez even tossed coach Don Zimmer to the ground.
One of my favorite fights was between Coco Crisp and James Shields at Fenway Park when the Tampa Bay Rays went to Boston to face the Red Sox. Crisp charged the mound after being hit by Shields in the thigh and we saw a few good hooks and jabs from players.
I am not saying every time a player is hit he needs to charge the mound in order to prove his manhood. But when a batter is hit intentionally near the head, when an infielder is taken out hard by a sliding player or when a catcher is barreled over, it is OK for a little fight to ensue. We all know how boring a three-hour game can be in the MLB. A little excitement can be good for the game.
Baseball is not known as the tough sport, and it will continue to be laughed at with little mini-conferences — as I would like to name those so-called brawls. If you are going to charge the mound or if benches are going to be cleared, let’s see a little more aggression please; let’s see some players act on their frustrations if they really are upset.
Torii Hunter was one of the Angels players who were thrown out of the game for having to be held back because he was jawing with the Red Sox and had to be restrained. Now if Hunter acted on his anger and decided to swing, then he should be ejected.
In this era of baseball with free agency it is obvious most players seem to get along and know each other outside of the game. But where has the mentality gone of playing only for the team name on your chest? When you step in between the chalk the opposing team is your enemy. And when someone throws at your batter or if someone goes after your pitcher, don’t be all nice and try to break it up immediately; give the fans a little bit of action and show some toughness.
It is a clear line to me. If benches are going to clear or if someone charges the mound, then I want to see some true fighting, because although some fans will disagree, this aspect of the game has been around for a very long time. If hitters can suck it up when someone throws at them and not yap at a pitchers and quietly take their base, then I am fine with that too because we will not see these little petty incidents like we saw in Anaheim last week. Good thing there were no boxing judges at the game; it could have been called a knockout by lack of toughness.
Adam Helfgott is a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore majoring in journalism and media studies. His column, “The Scarlet Pulse,” runs on alternate Thursdays. He also has a radio show on WRSU of the same name.
Enough of fake baseball brawls
The Scarlet Pulse
Published: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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