Henry Roldán
Baseball is regarded as one of the most passive sports due to the nature of it; however, often disputes of a non-sport nature may occur, such as those featured in our list of the best MLB fights.
Bats, helmets, gloves and balls fly through the air whenever tempers flare, as do many punches that go straight to the opponent’s face in clashes worthy of the most impressive movies. Do you want to know more about this? Well, here at JefeBet we present you a list with the six most impressive fights in history.
6. Who is the better one? Chan Ho Park’s kick or Rougned Odor’s right?
The sixth position on our list of the best fights in MLB was a tough one to decide on. Therefore, we leave it up to you to make the decision of which of the two should occupy this position. For us, it is a technical draw between two styles worthy of the best fights in Ultimate Fighting.
Let’s start with the oldest fight. On June 5, 1999, we may have witnessed the greatest kick in major league history after Korean pitcher Chan Ho Park didn’t like Tim Belcher slowing him down from reaching first base on a sacrifice bunt.
But as we already told you, the battle for sixth place is not an easy one. Or is it possible that a right-hand punch worthy of the best boxers in history has no claim to the position? We’ll show youthe KO that the Texas Rangers’ second baseman gave José Bautista after the Blue Jays outfielder slipped very viciously on the second pad at the moment.
We’ll let you decide.
5. Armando Benitez vs. Tino Martinez
The Yankees’ success in the late 1990s was not well handled by many teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, who were unable to stop their pitcher Armando Benítez in one of the most impressive fights in the history of the league, and in which he had Tino Martínez and company as his counterpart.
4.- Nolan Ryan vs. Robin Ventura
Nolan Ryan‘s beating of Robin Ventura ranks fourth on our ranking of the best MLB fights. The historic starter for the Rangers not only proved to be capable of being one of the most dominant pitchers in history on the mound, but also one of the best boxers on the mound. Poor Ventura. He had no idea what was in store for him.
3.- Pedro Martínez’s tackle
The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry is undoubtedly the fiercest, most impressive and hard-fought rivalry in all of Major League Baseball. These two teams have always had a sour relationship, and there could easily be five or six fights between them on this list.
However, this one from the 2003 season, in the third game of the American League Championship Series, is one of the most remembered and must be included in the best fights in MLB.
Things heated up in the bottom of the fourth inning after many hits between the two sides, including a pair from Pedro Martínez, to the point where 72-year-old Yankees coach Don Zimmer ran out to look for Martínez to knock him down. The player, trying to get rid of him, took him by the head and knocked him to the pitch, thus starring in one of the most controversial images in MLB history.
The Dominican pitcher was no stranger to brawls like this one, having previously been in one against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996.
2. Alex Rodriguez vs. Jason Varitek
As previously said, the Yankees and Red Sox have a long-standing rivalry that has resulted in numerous fights, including this one between Alex Rodríguez and Jason Varitek, which occurred just a few months after the last one between Martinez and Zimmer.
It was Rodríguez’s first season with the Yankees, but that didn’t stop Boston from holding grudges against the newcomer to the rivalry. Bronson Arroyo hit him in the elbow with a pitch, but it was none other than Varitek, with a slap to the face, who lit up the party at Fenway Park.
1. Total lack of control between Padres and Braves
The Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres clashed at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on August 12, 1984, for the number one duel on our list of MLB fights.
Throughout the game, three fights occurred: 13 individuals were ejected, including coaches and players, and several Braves fans were arrested after attacking numerous Padres players in one of the fights. A full-fledged brawl, complete with spectators.
