Baseball news has been highlighted by a nasty brawl that took place on Sunday but the New York Yankees have seen their fair share of fights as well.
By Christian Kouroupakis
If you didn’t know who Odor was before Sunday, you sure know his name now following the ignition of one the more vicious brawls in recent baseball history.
After a ruthless slide into second by Bautista in the eighth inning of the Rangers’ 7-6 win Sunday, Odor took exception to the slide, shoved the five-time All-Star followed by a right hook to his jaw.
Is this a bat flip response? Maybe, but did you know that there have been some unforgettable brawls and sucker punches that occurred throughout the history of baseball’s greatest franchise?
Bench clearing brawls have been part of baseball history since it’s creation back in the latter part of the 19th century and the Yankees have featured in some of the most epic fights of all-time.
So… which was the greatest of All-Time? Certainly some of the fights in recent Yankees’ history has topped the Odor/Bautista scuffle we witnessed this week but to decipher which one was the most exhilarating is a tall task.
In honor of Sunday’s brawl, here are the most entertaining fights in recent Yankees’ history.
July 9th, 2009
In a divisional match-up between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, tempers flared after Jesse Carlson threw a pitch high and tight on Jorge Posada.
Initially, there was nothing much as Posada only had a few words for the pitcher, but all hell broke loose when the Yankee catcher came around to score later in the inning.
When Posada crossed home plate he invaded the spot where Carlson was backing up and gave him an elbow as he ran towards his team’s dugout, something Carlson took objection to.
Seconds later, a fight between the two American League East foes broke out after a cheap shot was delivered by a five-time World Series Champion.
October 9th, 1977
This day in 1977 was game five of the American League Championship Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.
Right out of the gate, the aggressiveness began when George Brett tripled in a run in the bottom of the first inning. Brett took a hard and aggressive slide into Graig Nettles.
Immediately following the slide, Nettles took it upon himself to kick Brett which was the birth of a bench-clearing brawl in Kansas City.
The Yankees ended up prevailing in the ballgame thanks to four combined runs in the final two innings of play.
October 11th, 2003
It was nothing new to see when the Yankees and Red Sox got into a scuffle at any point during a ballgame, but this one was unique for an unfavorable reason.
During game three of the 2003 ALCS, during a bench clearing brawl between the hated rivals, Yankees’ bench coach Don Zimmer stormed out of the dugout and attempted to tackle Pedro Martinez.
Martinez skipped out of the way and threw the 73-year old straight to the ground in one of the craziest fights in baseball history.
August 1st, 1973
The feisty Yankees’ catcher Thurman Munson doubled to lead off the top of the ninth inning in a contest that was knotted up at Fenway Park. On the next play, he moved to third on a ground ball by Graig Nettles. Gene Michael then attempted to lay down a suicide squeeze but failed miserably.
With Munson being a dead duck at home, he lowered his shoulder into Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk in an attempt to knock the ball from his possession. Fisk was destroyed but kept his handle of the ball.
Fisk then tossed Munson over to get him off of him which was apparently an invitation for a punch by Munson. Then, Michael jumped in and got in a couple punches before Fenway turned into a madhouse. Both catchers were ejected.
July 24th, 2004
The Yankees owned a 3-0 lead over their rivals on July 24th, 2004 as the game progressed into the third inning at Fenway.
In that same inning, Red Sox right-hander Bronson Arroyo nailed Alex Rodriguez with a fastball in the left arm and the slugger didn’t seem to fond of the hit-by-pitch.
While walking slowly towards first base, A-Rod had a unique choice of words for catcher Jason Varitek who made his shove it, literally.
Varitek shoved his glove into the face of the Yankees’ third baseman initiating a bench-clearing brawl.
The photo of Rodriguez getting a glove to the face would be an instant classic but the brawl arguably sparked the Sox to a come-from-behind victory.
May 20th, 1976
Here is yet another Red Sox-Yankees’ brawl. Shocker, right?
This episode of fight club took place on a Thursday night in the Bronx in a game no one expected to be a focal point in the greatest rivalry in baseball.
The Yankees were in the lead by a slim margin ( leading 1-0 in the 6th) when Lou Piniella and Graig Nettles both reached on base hits. Otto Velez then slapped a single that led Piniella attempting to barrel over Fisk trying to score from second base.
Piniella blasted Fisk in the head with his elbow and then received a good ole ass whooping from the Red Sox catcher. Anarchy emerged at Yankee stadium as the benches and bullpens cleared.
The best part about this brawl was Bill Lee. Lee talked a boatload of smack about how the Yankees can’t fight and even used the term “hookers swinging their purse.”
During the fight, Nettles ran him over and drove the right-handed pitcher’s right shoulder and elbow into the ground. Weeks after the contest, Lee declared that he lost velocity off his fastball due to the fight.
He learned that you don’t mess with the Bronx Bombers without re-precautions.
May 19th, 1998
Yankees and Orioles participated in the best brawl in baseball history which featured roundhouse kicks. Flying punches, and maneuvers that aren’t seen in this day in age of baseball.
Orioles were experiencing their first sub-.500 season since 1991, while the Yankees were the best team in baseball and on pace to win their first of three straight titles.
Basically, this fight was initiated by Armando Bentiez picking the wrong team to fight and the wrong player to plunk because they were more than willing to kick his ass.
Highlights included Graeme Lloyd sprinting in from the bullpen to attack Benitez, Darryl Strawberry showing Benitez a few moves he learned from Karate Kid and the fight spilling over into the dugout where Strawberry emerged all bloodied up.
MLB handed an eight-game suspension to Benitez and three games each for Strawberry and Lloyd. These are just a prime examples of the Yankees participating in the greatest of fights this sport has ever seen. After all, they are the greatest team this sport has ever seen so of course they should be able to pack a punch.