On Brawls and Beanballs

Jason Michael Barker

Tuesday night's "Rumble in the Bronx" should serve as a reminder that baseball is not always the peaceful, cerebral sport that it appears to be, at least when compared to football or hockey.

In case you missed it, the Orioles and Yankees got into a little fracas in the first game of their three-game series this week. After Bernie Williams homered off of Armando Benitez to give New York the lead, Benitez proceeded to plunk Tino Martinez with the very next pitch. The pitch, a 90+ MPH fastball (Benitez has been clocked at near 100 MPH), hit Martinez square in the back. The benches cleared and chaos ensued (Incidentally, Benitez and Martinez have somewhat of a history of this sort of thing. Back in 1995, when Martinez was playing for the Mariners, Benitez nailed him in a similar incident).

Unlike most baseball brawls (you know, the standing-around-yakking variety), this melee was serious. Yankees' slugger Darryl Strawberry led the charge from the dugout, while reliever Graeme Lloyd brought in the troops from the bullpen, and both players got in some good shots on Benitez. And just when it appeared things had settled down, the scuffle spilled over into the dugout, with Strawberry again laying into the now battered Oriole reliever. When the smoke cleared, 5 players, including Strawberry, Lloyd and Benitez had been ejected.

I'm all for tough-guy baseball and sticking up for your teammates, but this whole incident was ridiculous for two reasons. First, Benitez's logic. He made a mistake, a bad pitch to Williams, and he should have moved on. What did he hope to accomplish by throwing at Martinez? In the late innings of a close game, giving the opposing team an extra baserunner isn't exactly a smart move.

Second, the rampaging Strawberry and Lloyd, et al. Benitez, obviously frustrated after surrendering a home run, hit Martinez. Was it intentional? You bet it was. Was he trying to injure him? I doubt it. So what's the big deal? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Benitez should or shouldn't have hit Tino. It certainly didn't make much sense, given the situation, but the Yankees overreacted.

Years ago, hitting and brushing back batters was an accepted part of the game. Batter crowding the plate? Buzz one past his ear. Runner spiked your second baseman? Fastball in the ribs next time up. It was, in a sense, part of the strategy of the game. So what's changed?

It's two things, really. First off is the advent of the designated hitter. It used to be (still is in the National League) that a pitcher would think twice about plunking a hitter, because chances were that he would get beaned himself next time up. Now, in the American League at least, the pitcher doesn't have to hit, so he faces no danger of a retaliation beaning. You can bet Benitez would have thought before he acted if he had to lead off the next inning. I don't have any numbers to support this, but I'm willing to bet that for this exact reason, there are less intentional HBPs in the Senior Circuit.

Second is the hitters themselves. Ever seen how close Jeff Bagwell and Mo Vaughn stand to the plate? They're practically asking for it. And then when they do get hit, they act as if the pitcher has just made some not-so-nice references to their mother. Then you've got Kenny Lofton, who earlier this year made a huge deal out of a Randy Johnson slider that came nowhere near him.

What to do, you ask? Hitters need to suck it up, and not get so offended when a pitcher throws inside, especially when said hitter is standing on home plate. Pitchers, on the other hand, need to pick their spots. Hitting a batter to send a message ("don't crowd the plate," "don't spike my teammate) makes sense. Plunking a batter after you give up a home run doesn't.

You know the guy in the dugout who doesn't know he has bubblegum stuck to his cap? That's Jason Michael Barker. If you know who put it there, or have any ideas how to get back at the guy who did it, let him know at jmb@strikethree.com.