http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/basebrawl.html 5. Durham Bulls vs. Winston-Salem Warthogs (May 22, 1995) The occasion: "Strike Out Domestic Violence " night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The catalyst: Warthogs pitcher Jason Kummerfeldt, who hit three Bulls batters before the third inning ended. The charger: Bulls batter John Knott, who was sure Kummerfeldt was doing it on purpose. The end result: fisticuffs and one kick to the face of Winston-Salem pitcher Glen Cullop, who ended up hospitalized with a broken jaw and lost five teeth. A splendid show for the anti-domestic-violence fans who cheered on their Bulls when the punches started flying. Ten players were ejected, and within a few days Carolina League president John Hopkins meted out $6,000 in fines and 124 days of suspensions, penalizing every player on both clubs except the next night's starting pitchers, who were both in the stands charting pitches.
I remember when that happened. A movie script couldn't have told a better story. The only thing missing from the page 2 list was the AAA fight where Izzy Alcantara ninja kicked the oposing catcher before charging the mound. I need to search for that video because it is hilarious. CK edit :here is a Simmons article on the subject. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/010815.html
I remember seeing that on ESPN. Talk about premeditated. Does anyone remember the time where the Astros Eric Yelding charged Rob Dibble and through his batting helmet at him?
Here are my all-time Astros brawls that I can remember (I have done extensive research on the details .....hope yall enjoy): April 11, 1991 - In a game the astros would eventually win, 4-1, Curt Schilling gets a hit off of Dibble in the 9th inning, which drove in an insurance run. Dibble then proceeds to throw a pitch behind the back of the next batter, Eric Yelding. Yelding charges the mound and throws his helmet at Dibble before being tackled by Hal Morris. May 10, 1989 - Expos are pounding the astros 10-1. Spike Owens at bat and Larry Andersen is just brought into the game. Anderson has one get away from him and it comes high and tight into Owens. Pitch never hit him, but did knock him down (pitch ended up hitting his bat as he went down). Owens charges the mound and charges Andersen. 3 or 4 fights break out on the field. Highlight was Astros bullpen coach Mel Ott (a former state wrestling champion) throwing an Expo to the ground like he was a rag doll. Danny Darwin emerges from the fight with a torn jersey and blood all over him (most likely, an Expos' blood). August 12, 1996 - Henry Rodriguez launches a 2nd inning homer off a Darwin. H-Rod makes the mistake of standing at home plate and admiring his dinger instead of rounding the bases. Well, as you can guess, the next time up, Darwin drills Rodriguez in the butt with a fastball. Rod charges Darwin and a full scale war erupts. Terry Collins ends up with a busted lip after Moises Alou throws his batting helmet right at his face. Highlights include little John Cangelosi's takedown of 6'8'' knucklehead, and former Astro, Jeff Juden. August 27, 1993 - Not really a brawl, but needs to be noted. Dennis Martinez (a notorious head hunter/inside pitcher) drills Jeff Bagwell in the 1st inning. Later in the game, with Martinez at the plate, Todd Jones comes in and throws 4 fastballs WAY inside, with each one even farther inside that the previous one. Martinez litterally jumps out of his shoes to avoid being hit on every pitch. Martinez takes his base and Jones is ejected. Enter Al Osuna. Osuna immediately throws at Martinez while he is on 1st base!!! Osuna claims it was an errant pickoff throw. However, it was noted that Jeff Bagwell was playing behind the runner and Osuna's throw came no where near Bagwell's glove (Osuna is left handed and he could clearly see that Bags wasnt holding Martinez on). Osuna is ejected. No fisticuffs however. --------------------- A few notes: We always use to brawl with Montreal. Some of our best fights/confrontations were with them. Danny Darwin is one of the all-time hard asses in the history of baseball (right up there with Nolan Ryan). You don't show up Darwin. Anyone else remember that his nickname was Dr. Death?? Darwin was always in the middle of every brawl we've ever had.
Thanks Codell. Danny Darwin was a certifiable badass, one of my all-time favorite astros. I got to meet him a couple of times, he's a really nice & funny guy off the field.
Believe it or not, one of my only claims to fame is the fact that my mom babysat Darwin when he was a lil boy. My mom's best friend (who lives in Dallas) is one of Darwin's cousins. My mom said he was hell to babysit (liked to torture cats and stuff).
Also, Darwin pitched for the Rangers in the early/mid 80s and once got into a fight with a fan in the parking lot of old Arlington Stadium.
codell...i will require photo evidence of your mom babysitting darwin and if this is tru then i will also require an autograph photo from your mom.
The Astros lack the one or two tough guy that is willing to charge the mound. I thought that Crazy Carl Everett would be that guy.
My favorite fight was the one Codell mentioned where little John Cangelosi beat the crap out of six foot six Jeff Juden. Didn't someone get hit in the face with a batting helmet in that one? It's sad; I would have been five when that fight happened, and I still remember watching it.
Here's another one---- 1995- Astros vs. Reds @ the Dome. Jeff Bagwell's first game back from his 2nd broken hand. Ex-Astro Xavier Hernandez is on the mound. I don't remember what part of the game it happened, but the "X"-Man comes in high and tight and hits Bagwell in his left hand (It's the first game Bagwell is wearing his special pad on his hand). The pad goes flying in the air and *BOOM* benches clear and a fight ensues. From what I remember some Astros were suprised that Hernandez had hit Bagwell since there were teammates in the early 90's. In the Astros Silver Anniversary Tape from 1990 they show this fight, including Ott getting his ass dragged out of the pile. They then go over the fight with Jim Deshaies. JD has to then admit that he was in the clubhouse the whole time this fight was going on. He was getting himself some coffee, and goes on saying, "Well maybe I should go out there....... Nah, I'll just watch it on TV"
I remember the fight with the X man. I liked Hernandez when he was with us, but he turned into an a-hole after he left. In fact, I think X was involved in a few more fights because of his head hunting .......errrrr ..... I mean "inside pitching". Ok, so it seems most of our fights involved the Reds or Expos. Any other teams?
I suspect X's problems as a 'headhunter' correlated with his losing his ability to pitch. Compensating for his lost talent did not continue getting him compensated for pitching. he wa sfired from that.
