Saturday, September 17, 2005

"Wrasslin,' Kickin,' and Fisticuffs" or "A Good Way To Build Camaraderie"


White Sox vs. Tigers (April 22, 2000)
Sixteen players, coaches and managers suspended. Nine others fined. It was, MLB said, "the biggest mass suspension ever."

That was the end result of two brawls that erupted at Comiskey Park, one in the seventh inning, the other in the ninth. In the sixth, the Tigers Jeff Weaver hit Carlos Lee with a pitch. In retaliation, Chicago's starter, Jim Parque, plunked Detroit's Dean Palmer in the top of the seventh. Palmer charged the mound, throwing his helmet at Parque before the real action started.

"This wasn't just a shoving match," wrote Tom Gage in the Detroit News. "This was a nasty fight in which heavy punches were thrown and players were bloodied. White Sox reliever Keith Foulke had a facial cut that required five stitches."

In the ninth, a couple more hit batsmen inspired another round of wrasslin', kicking and fisticuffs. When it was all over, the umps had ejected 11.

Chris Osgood of the Red Wings was impressed. "It was a pretty vicious fight for a baseball game," he said. "But they stood up for themselves pretty good. It's a good way to build camaraderie."
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