Basebrawl at Fenway Park: Several slugfests that interrupted the game

An enjoyable evening at Fenway Park, and the weather is ideal; the bleachers are packed, the beer is flowing -- what could go wrong? Just about anything, especially if the Boston Red Sox opponent is the New York Yankees. I present just an anecdotal note on one such example.

The bleachers have been somewhat sanitized over the years to bring a mild level of civilized behavior, but eradicating rowdyism is a Sisyphean task. My favorite is Yankee and Mets fans brawling and Red Sox fans delightfully encouraging the participants.

The "bouts" usually resulted from a pitcher trying to emulate Early Wynn, Don Drysdale, or Bob Gibson, who were notorious for their ability to instill a fear factor. Today batters have enough armor to make a Templar Knight on a crusade to save Christendom jealous.

Boxing is familiar to Fenway Park, and the ancient art has an extensive history at the fabled ballyard. The first match goes back deep into the last century, but this is all about boys being boys, and for some strange reason, it percolates around the Yankees.

A catcher's mitt tastes like chicken

What better place to start than July 24, 2004? The Red Sox and the Yankees, with the perfect foil being Alex Rodriquez. A-Rod could have become a member of these Boston Red Sox if the money and union had cooperated; we could have enjoyed towering home runs, a truckload of RBI, Madonna and Alex doing stupid stuff.

The Sox were well behind the Yankees in the AL East, and I am sure they fully remember the disastrous playoff in 2003 as a Tim Wakefield knuckleball went into the bleachers at Yankee Stadium. Down by three runs, Bronson Arroyo nailed "Slappy" with a slow curve, and A-Rod had a major butt hurt. Soon, that hurt would expand.

A-Rod started to yammer away at catcher Jason Varitek about Arroyo's ability to find the correct area on the plate. Do you argue with someone wearing a mask and built like the Hulk? Varitek shoved his mitt into the yaw of Rodriquez, and the on-field riot erupted.

The player scrum headed towards me in Section 10 near the right field foul ball, but the section remained an island of pacifism despite several Yankee fans in the area, including one next to me. He remarked that Boston is renowned for excellent medical facilities, and he hopes not to test that out.

When the pandemonium settled down, players ejected, fans threatening anything in pinstripes, and the local constables on high alert, the game continued. The Red Sox settled the matter with a fantastic 11-10 comeback win toasting Mariano Rivera.

The Gerbil attempts to collar Pedro

Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer are forever linked in Red Sox history, but I will now take an editorial sidebar about Zimmer. Zimmer was the prototypical baseball lifer who eventually managed the Red Sox. Zimmer, the player, endured and recovered from a horrific beaning which can be viewed with Zimmer's life story on SABR. But back to Zimmer, the manager from 1976-1980.

Zim's winning percentage was a remarkable .575, but his managerial ability cost the team two World Series shots. (JMO). In 1978 the Sox were piling it on, and the only way they would lose the division was by being hit by the bubonic plague and the entire team isolated to a deserted island off the coast of Peru. Zimmer seemed lost as the Red Sox's huge lead drifted away, setting up a playoff game and Bucky Dent. Zimmer had to contend with the "Buffalo Heads" and being nicknamed "The Gerbil," so I do have a tiny bit of compassion for him. I'll stop there before my Red Sox PTSD steps in.

Zimmer became a coach for the Yankees, and during Game 3 of the ALCS, when Martinez dusted off a Yankee hitter, ill words were exchanged between both teams. Yankee starter Roger Clemens responded by testing Manny Ramirez's reflexes to avoid a pitch, which became brawl time. The highlight of the scuffle was the 72-year-old Zimmer going after Pedro, who tossed him to the ground.

No Rays of sunshine with Tampa in town

A break from the Yankees-Red Sox and I will wander into the second hated franchise for Beantown, the Tampa Bay Rays. A bit of Ray's trivia is the first member of their Hall of Fame was Zimmer.

In 2000 at Tropicana Field -- an insult to baseball stadiums -- the Red Sox and Rays scuffled. Brian Daubach spent the remainder of the game with Rays pitchers attempting to plug him. Martinez became the ignitor with some tight pitches.

In 2005 at Tropicana, a little headhunting occurred, with David Ortiz getting a pitch sent to test his batting helmet. In 2006 it was spring training when Julian Tavarez of the Red Sox decided to light the fire and was quite successful. I could go on and on about the kerfuffles between the two teams, but I will focus on Fenway Park.

Representing the Boston Red Sox and wearing the red socks is Coco Crisp at 5'10' and 185 lbs. In the other corner wearing the blue socks and representing the Tampa Bay Rays, is James Shields at 6'3" and 210 pounds.

The usual match was a pitch, and this one plunked Crisp, who sprinted to the mound to seek instant revenge and gratification. Jonny Gomes (remember him?) exited Ray's bench to test his knuckles at Crisp, who was on the ground. The usual results were the bullpen guys getting a sprint to the war zone and the benches yelling epitaphs at their fellow union members. Not quite WWE, but an enjoyable evening on TV.

The reasoning for targeting Crisp was payback or baseball vigilante justice. Crisp had used a hard slide the previous night that had raised the ires of Rays manager Joe Maddon. Hence an entertaining scuffle during a 7-1 Boston win.

The bullpen becomes a boxing ring

The 2003 playoffs were not a pleasant experience for the Red Sox, who eventually saw hopes of burying the curse evaporate, but Game Three of the ALCS saw not the fans but the bullpen get involved. In this instance, a groundskeeper had a verbal exchange with the Yankee's pen.

The war of words quickly escalated and became a classic he said, she said when arrests and court appearances followed. Outfielder Karim Garcia and pitcher Jeff Nelson were pinched for their actions along with groundskeeper Paul Williams, who attained cult status for his actions.

Nelson was a career relief specialist who never made a start in 798 games. The Yankees picked up Nelson to provide some needed bullpen depth. Nelson was granted free agency after the season and finished a 15-year career in 2006.

Garcia - a lefty hitter - was purchased from the Cleveland Indians in June to provide outfield support and a bat off the bench. Garcia did his part, hitting .305 for the Yankees but switched sides in 2004, becoming a Met.

The case was sketchy at best, and both Garcia and Nelson were sentenced to 50 hours of community service and anger management for their involvement. The court believed the cleat wounds on Williams were not self-inflicted.

A tragic footnote to this scuffle is a more severe situation that resulted in a fatality. A Yankee fan was charged with second-degree murder and driving under the influence after ramming her car into a group of people. This resulted from a verbal altercation between a Yankee fan and a group of Red Sox fans "enjoying" the game at a New Hampshire bar.

The clubhouse is not a sanctuary

Jimmy Piersall and Billy Martin were not known for their shyness or lack of intensity. In 1952 the two decided to settle their differences on the runway at Fenway Park. Neither player commented on the feud or what the outcome was.

The fiery Martin went on to be a successful manager and had a litany of public and private issues. Impulse control and anger management were not high on Martin's list of accomplishments. Martin and Yankee slugger Reggie Jackson once put on a great show in the Bombers dugout at Fenway Park.

Piersall was the greatest outfield glove I have ever seen and suffered severe mental health issues. Piersall's life can be viewed here - thank you, SABR!, Piersall was entertaining and his 100th home run is a great example of being entertaining.

In 2008 a series of incidents led to Manny Ramirez being shipped out of town. Manny being Manny was in a conflict with teammate Kevin Youkilis that was caught on camera. Youk was not known for his reticent nature and undoubtedly had targeted Manny over Manny's lazy approach to the game.

A supposed outcome of the situation was the taking of an internal vote on keeping Manny. The results were no one wanted Manny, and he was gone. Manny could still slug and had 20 homers and a .298 batting average when traded to the Dodgers. After that, Manny's career faded with drug suspensions and poor performance.

Why does a team trade a superstar? We saw that with Mookie Betts, but back in Red Sox history, another MVP was traded who was instrumental in winning two championships. Tris Speaker was just 27 years old and considered by many the best player in the AL, and Ty Cobb was in his prime.

The Red Sox clubhouse was in ruins, and Speaker was part of the mess. He was staunch Anti-Catholic in a Catholic town and clubhouse. Speaker reportedly was a KKK member and an irascible individual who fought with teammates and just about anyone else. Speaker and Ty Cobb on the personality chart, and both eventually became teammates.

The trade return was considered underwhelming (think Betts), but Boston won it all in 1916, a year after the deal. As for Speaker, he won the batting title, but his fighting days were not over.

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