Usually, baseball isn’t a sport known for fighting, but the stars of the game seem to be changing that reputation.
For the second time this season, one of the games most prominent players was the first to throw a punch in a benches-clearing brawl. First, it was Bryce Harper, this time it’s Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera had a ball thrown behind him by Yankees’ pitcher Tommy Kahnle. Immediately after, Kahnle and his manager, Joe Girardi, were ejected and Yankees’ catcher Austin Romine was visibly upset.
Then, things seemed to settle down until Cabrera came up for his next at-bat, where he and Romine immediately began to jaw at each other. Then, it came to blows.
It looks like Cabrera was the first one to actually make physical contact, with both the initial push and a punch, much like Rougned Odor did against Bautista last season.
However, that wasn’t the end of it. Next up, Dellin Betances was ejected after hitting James McCann in the head with a scary pitch. Obviously hitting him in the head wasn’t intentional, but Betances was ejected and the benches cleared for a second time.
Then, to keep the madness going, Alex Wilson drilled Todd Frazier in the hip and then benches cleared once more.
In the end, what they always say is to get revenge on the scoreboard. If anyone did that of the bunch, it’s James McCann, who hit a bomb in his next at-bat after being hit in the head – extending the Tigers’ lead to 10-6.
And of course, he’s taken notes from Jose Bautista and did add in some flair to his celebration running down the line.
