This has been somewhat of a fiery year for brawls in baseball. More often than not, baseball fights solely consist of some pushing and shoving following by grown men hugging each other for a moment or two before everyone clears out and play resumes.
But for whatever reason, things seem to be different this year.
First we had Rougned Odor delivering one of the most impressive right hands in baseball history to the face of Jose Bautista, and now we have this heated brawl from a minor league game this week. During a Triple-A contest between the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals affiliate) the New Orleans Zephyrs (Miami Marlins) on Monday night, a Redbirds player was nearly drilled in the head by a pitch.
That player, Jeremy Hazelbaker, then charged the mound and sparked a brawl that emptied both dugouts. As the chaos unfolded, punches were thrown and guys ran from both bullpens to get in on the action. Ultimately, five players and the Zephyrs manager were ejected and sent to the showers early.
While it’s hard to pinpoint any haymakers like the one Odor unleashed earlier in the year, this was definitely a little more raucous than your typical baseball “brawl.” I’m not sure why things seem to be more contentious this year, but we’re not even to the All-Star break yet. There’s still potential for a lot more shenanigans this year.
Make Baseball Violent Again?
