Wednesday Afterschool Special: Fight Night

Yordano Ventura gets the Crying Jordan treatment

Well, the rest of the league knows now not to pitch to Manny Machado inside after he punched Royals starter Yordano Ventura for plunking him Tuesday night. Ventura would take more than one L on the night, getting the full Crying Jordan treatment and losing to the Orioles 9-1:

Notorious Basebrawls

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The Mets were routing the Reds 9-2 in Game 3 of the NLCS when Pete Rose slid hard into Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson at second base to try to break up a double play. Rose was upset about comments Harrelson had made in the press and shoved Harrelson, who swung his elbow. Fists started flying as both benches emptied. Pedro Borbon of the Reds and Buzz Capra of the Mets also went mano a mano, with Borbon ending up with the wrong cap -- a Mets cap -- on his head. When he realized what he had done, he bit a chunk out of it. On the 40th anniversary of the infamous Rose-Harrelson fight, we take a look at other notorious basebrawls through the years, starting with the most recent.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks were involved in a heated brawl that involved players and coaches, including Don Mattingly taking down Alan Trammell (pictured). There were six ejections, stemming from a night in which Arizona's Ian Kennedy hit rookie Yasiel Puig in the face with a pitch and hit starter Zack Greinke with another high pitch.

This exhibit of vigilante justice was on display in San Diego, when a fastball from the Dodgers' Zack Greinke veered inside and hit the Padres' Carlos Quentin on the left arm. A moment later, Quentin charged the mound, and soon both benches emptied in a brawl. Greinke suffered a broken collarbone and will now likely miss up to two months. After the game, Matt Kemp confronted Quentin in a tunnel under the stadium before Padres pitcher Clayton Richard (bottom right) separated them.

The ongoing feud between the Rays and Red Sox continued at Fenway Park on June 5, when Tampa Bay's James Shields hit Boston's Coco Crisp in retaliation for Crisp's rough slide into a Tampa Bay player the previous night. Crisp charged the mound, and both players threw roundhouse punches that failed to do any damage. A bench-clearing brawl, resulting in three ejections, followed.

Cubs catcher Michael Barrett didn't take too kindly to being run over at the plate by his counterpart, White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. After Pierzynski slapped home plate and got up, Barrett grabbed him and puched him in the jaw. "He grabbed me and said, 'I didn't have the ball' and then he punched me," Pierzynski said. "I was trying to pick up my helmet."

Red Sox captain Jason Varitek didn't appreciate Alex Rodriguez's staring down Red Sox starter Bronson Arroyo after getting hit by a pitch. Varitek and A-Rod squared off, with Varitek shoving the Yankees star in the face. Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, and both players were ejected. The inspired Red Sox rallied to win the game on Bill Mueller's ninth-inning homer off Mariano Rivera.

During a Pedro Martinez-Roger Clemens showdown in Game 3 of the ALCS, Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer, 73, lunged toward the Red Sox right hander and ending up with a faceful of Fenway sod. Later in the game New York reliever Jeff Nelson and right fielder Karim Garcia got into a fight with a Fenway Park groundskeeper after he cheered for Boston in the Yankees' bullpen.

Reds starter Paul Wilson was trying to bunt when Cubs reliever Kyle Farnsworth threw a fastball high and tight. Wilson said something to Farnsworth, who charged toward home plate, flipped off his glove and slammed Wilson to the ground before landing a punch to the face. A pileup quickly ensued on top of the two pitchers.

Pedro Martinez's bid for a no-hitter began with a brawl. Martinez began the game by hitting the leadoff hitter, Devil Rays outfielder Gerald Williams, who charged the mound and floored Martinez with a punch. Umpires ejected Williams but allowed Martinez to remain in the game. He ended up allowing a single in the ninth inning that broke up his no-hit bid.

One brawl wasn't enough for the Tigers and White Sox, who fought in the seventh and ninth innings of a 14-6 Chicago victory. Final tally: five hit by pitches and 11 ejections. "Bottom line is, we won the game and we killed them," Chicago pitcher Jim Parque said. "I hope they have enough guys so we can beat them again."

After giving up an eighth-inning, three-run home run to Bernie Williams, O's reliever Armando Benitez drilled Tino Martinez in the back with a pitch, setting off a 10-minute brawl that included a wild sucker punch on Benitez by the Yanks' Darryl Stawberry. ''It was the worst brawl I've seen in 25 years,'' George Steinbrenner said. The Yankees ended up trading for Benitez in 2003.

Robin Ventura had a decent career, but most people will remember him for getting a bunch of noogies from Nolan Ryan, who, at 46, was 20 years his elder. Ventura was ejected from the game and Ryan stayed in. The Rangers won 5-2.

By the time the Orioles' Mike Mussina hit Bill Hasselman in the shoulder with a high fastball in the seventh inning, tempers in this game were already running hot. The Mariners catcher had touched the Orioles ace for a home run earlier in the game, and in retaliation, the Mariners' Chris Bosio had thrown behind both Harold Reynolds and Mark McLemore. Once plunked, Hasselman charged Mussina, and amid the ensuing 20-minute scuffle, Bosio refractured his left collarbone, an injury from which he had just returned after missing a month. He missed another 19 days and served a five-game suspension upon returning, while six other players drew suspensions of three to five games as well. Hasselman received only a three-gamer, but Mussina wasn't disciplined even though Piniella claimed that an Oriole told him that the plunking had been ordered.

When Lou Piniella collided with Carlton Fisk at home plate in an unsuccessful attempt to score, it set off a fracas that had its roots in a 1973 encounter between Fisk and Thurman Munson. Fisk tackled Piniella, while the Red Sox Bill Lee (right), who was backing up home plate, was punched by the Yankees' Mickey Rivers and then thrown to the ground by Graig Nettles, who apparently intended to keep him from joining the fray. Once Lee regained his feet, he went to throw a punch at Nettles, and when he realized he couldn't lift his left (throwing) arm, he continued jawing and was subsequently decked with a right hook that gave him a black eye.

The Giants and the Dodgers were bitter rivals engaged in a pennant race when Juan Marichal came up to bat against Sandy Koufax. When Dodgers catcher Johnny Roseboro threw a ball back to Koufax that nicked Marichal's ear, the San Francisco ace struck the catcher with his bat, setting off a melee and opening a two-inch gash on Roseboro's head. Marichal was suspended nine days and fined $1,750.

Dempsey, USMNT right the ship with dominating display over Costa Rica

So much for the Ticos being a stingy defensive team. Clint Dempsey and the U.S. ran rampant over Costa Rica Tuesday night with Dempsey recording a goal and an “assist” (see below) in the Americans' 4-0 victory.

The U.S. needed to win this game to avoid being the first team knocked out of the Copa America Centenario and they put on a spectacle, the highlight of which remains this beautifully taken chance from Jermaine Jones for the second goal:

The Americans now sit second in Group A, below Colombia, with only a game against Paraguay remaining.

The King v. the Zen Master?

With Game 3 of the NBA Finals looming tonight, Phil Jackson had some high praise for LeBron James, saying he can drag the Cavs out of this 0–2 hole much like Michael Jordan led the ’93 Bulls back against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

LeBron didn’t take too kindly to Jackson’s advice:

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Auburn robs Oklahoma of walk-off homer, gets walk-off grand slam force Game 3

With the game tied at 7 in the sixth inning of the Women’s College World Series, anxious fans on both sides watched as Auburn leftfielder Tiffany Howard rose up and robbed Oklahoma of a two-run homer at the wall:

Auburn’s night would only get better, as senior Emily Carosone sent the first pitch she saw into the stands for a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the eighth, tying the series up at one game apiece:

Stick to basketball, Chuck

This isn’t the first time he’s tried to take his talents off the hardwood:

Today’s Peanuts

(Photo credit: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)