Ouch. #RedSox #Yankees pic.twitter.com/WmsEQQFwb3
— Marc Bertrand (@Marc_Bertrand) April 12, 2018
Unlike most baseball players, the haymaker New York Yankees youngster Tyler Austin threw at Joe Kelly was a serious one. Here it is … in slow motion …
Well, I think it’s safe to go out on a limb and say the greatest rivalry in sports is officially back. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox threw down in the first of many series to be played this year.
After a slide play in which Tyler Austin clipped the back of Brock Holts leg, the benches cleared. Later in the game, Joe Kelly drilled Austin in the back at nearly 100 mph.
Austin, naturally upset about this, snapped his bat like a twig and started heading towards the mound.
Then all hell broke loose.
In the chaos of the best Yankees-Red Sox fight weâve seen in a long while, the cameras caught Austin’s official audition video for The Ultimate Fighter (video above):
Jeez, that’s a whole lot of power behind that swing. I almost don’t even blame Kelly for trying to side-step the charging Austin.
I mean, it’s one thing to put a heater in a player’s back because your thin-skinned shortstop can’t handle a hard slide. It’s a whole other thing to face the consequences of your ill-thought out actions in the form of the strongest team since the end of the steroid era.
Kelly should count himself lucky that Aaron Judge was holding him in an emasculating headlock and Austinâs punch connected with the wrong target. Not even rec specs could have protected him from this absolute haymaker.
Also, shout out to Christian Vazquez for putting his mask back on at the start of the fight. Nothing says, “I’m ready to throw down” like making sure all of your protective gear is fastened securely. Take notes on proper fight etiquette for catchers from Austin Romine:
Benches clear, punches thrown in Yankees-Tigers game with Miguel Cabrera and Austin Romine at the center of it. https://t.co/g32ygLF1cz pic.twitter.com/QMsJ5fEDQO
— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2017
