TOP FIGHTS IN YANKEES HISTORY: #5-1

As I mentioned in the first half of this series, the Yankees have had some great rivalries, and most of us remember where we were and how we yelled at the TV when certain fights happened. Here is the second half of my top 10 fights in Yankees history.

5. Shelley Duncan and the Spring Training Melee

I cannot think of a single good reason why a fight breaks out in spring training. Veterans are getting their work in, rookies are trying to make an impression. Everybody's biggest worry is getting hurt and missing opening day. The last thing anybody thinks about is a fight. The 2008 Rays had other ideas. After a home plate collision a few days earlier, Shelley Duncan retaliated by sliding into second with spikes up. Tampa Bay right fielder Jonny Gomes charged in and the benches cleared. It was the birth of a division rivalry with the division newest member.

4. Alex Rodriguez vs. Jason Varitek

July 24, 2004, was a flashpoint in the history of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. After getting hit by a pitch, Alex Rodriguez started yelling at Jason Varitek and it was very easy to read lips ("F--- you! F--- you! F--- you, M---r f---r, c'mon!"). Varitek puts his mitt in Alex's face, and Alex grabs him in a headlock and throws him around like a rag doll. After Varitek was rescued by his teammates, a bunch of other fights broke out on the field. This fight was a clear indicator of what the rivalry with Boston looked like in 2003 and 2004. It wasn't as bad as 1976, ut it was intense. Do hard feelings linger? Neither Alex nor Varitek will sign a picture from that game. Tanyon Sturtze, who started that game for the Yankees, grew up in Boston. In an exclusive interview with BYB (read Bleeding Yankee Blue: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: TANYON STURTZE), Sturtze said that after this fight, he threw out a bunch of Red Sox memorabilia and despises the Red Sox to this day. Enough said.

3. Graig Nettles  vs. Bill Lee

Speaking of 1976 .... it started as a war of words. In 1973, after an altercation between Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk, Red Sox pitcher "Spaceman" Bill Lee said the Yankees looked like "a bunch of hookers swinging their purses". Three years later, in 1976, Bill Lee was pitching against the Yankees when Lou Piniella barreled into Carlton Fisk in a play at the plate. All hell broke loose. Piniella and Fisk went it for a while before it was broken up. Then Lee got the brilliant idea to yell at Graig Nettles. Nettles knocked him to the ground with a single punch. Mickey Rivers and a bunch of other Yankees got into it as well. When it ended, Bill Lee walked away clutching his arm in obvious pain, causing the Yankees Stadium crowd to erupt in cheers. Was it connected to the 1973 comments? After the game, Bill Lee would call manager Billy Martin a Nazi, who responded by leaving a dead fish at his locker with a note telling him to stick it in his purse. Graig Nettles asked after the game, "I'd like to know, does he look like he's been hit with a purse?” Bill Lee was never the same pitcher after that injury. Those were the days.

2. Armando Benitez hits Tino Martinez

Armando Benitez came in to save a 1-run lead with two on when Bernie Williams sent a fastball over the fence for a three-run home run. Maybe it was the fact that the Orioles had lost 7 of their previous 9, or that they were in dead last. Regardless, Benitez lost his composure and hit the next batter, Tino Martinez, on the first pitch. Darryl Strawberry led the charge from the dugout and the fight lasted for 10 minutes. It spilled into the visitor's dugout, with lots of people getting involved. Most notably, Graeme Lloyd flew in with a wild haymaker, which earned him a loud standing ovation the next game he appeared in. Curiously, Cal Ripken was pulling people away from the fight. He was in the middle of his consecutive game streak, so I wondered why he would risk getting injured. Nevertheless, it was a stupid move by Benitez, even prompting some of his teammates to say the same. To add insult to injury, the next batter, Tim Raines, hit a home run. It was a nice touch. 

1. 2003 ALCS Pedro Throws Zimmer to the Ground

Betting on baseball gets you banned from the Hall of Fame. Throwing a 72-year-old man to the ground apparently does not. Roger Clemens was pitching to Manny Ramirez when he threw a pitch that angered Manny. If you see the footage, the pitch was high but over the plate. That little detail didn't stop Manny from walking to the mound and yelling at Clemens, who was yelling back. Benches cleared, and Don Zimmer charges Pedro Martinez. Pedro grabs him by the head and shoves him down into the ground. The fight literally stops and both Yankees and Red Sox players come around to see if Zimmer was okay. It drew universal condemnation from the announcers to baseball journalists all over. Even Mayor Bloomberg suggested that perhaps assault charges should be considered. Despite rationalizations from Pedro that he was trying to defend himself, absolutely nobody was buying it. It was an ugly game, with 3 separate altercations, and deepened the hatred between the two teams.

So that's it. I gotta tell you, recalling some of these incidents got me heated. And it's the offseason. So what did you think? Did I get it right? Did I miss any of your favorites? Let us know. 

--Ike Dimitriadis, 
BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

MARLON BYRD TO THE YANKEES IS POSSIBLE

I am not so sure Marlon Byrd is a good choice for the Yankees, but they could use an extra bat, so of course, anyone who knows how to hit these days is always in the mix, especially with the trade deadline being tomorrow.  According to Jayson Stark, the Yankees like him, maybe... but maybe not because of that damn option:

Source says #Mariners are "out" on Marlon Byrd. Still some legs to rumblings linking Byrd & #Yankees but Yankees wary of 2016 vesting option
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 30, 2014

Look, maybe Byrd is the guy, or maybe like Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record suggested weeks ago, Maybe Josh Willingham is a better option, although, as of late... he's not doing so well.  There's always the argument that a change of scenery for any player could be a good thing. 

I do know this, never say never about Byrd... except I am! I don't think he's coming to New York. Then again, I said the same thing about a guy named Armando Benitez once...

You remember how that worked out...

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REACTING TO THE BREWERS FAN REACT OF MY REACT OF BRAUN'S OVATION

Try saying that 5 times fast.

The reactions are coming in from my first article on the Milwaukee welcome Ryan Braun got in his first at-bat. Read my initial post titled WHY DID RYAN BRAUN GET A STANDING OVATION? Then read the fan react: BACKING RYAN BRAUN: A BREWERS FAN'S TAKE.

I am neither surprised by nor critical of their reactions. This is America – we have the right to cheer for whom we want, freedom of speech and all that. I will be the last person to say that you cannot cheer for your heroes.

I sympathize with Brewers fans. Their record was 41-56 when Braun was suspended, and they went 33-32 afterwards. Losing is no fun, and when baseball suspends your best hitter for the rest of the season, it can be demoralizing. When he returned, I could see where the fans take encouragement that this season is going to be better than the last that they would have something about which to cheer. My criticisms on the topic stem from my love for the game. I was always taught that nothing you accomplish through cheating is really an accomplishment. Which is why I was baffled by the ovation given to Ryan Braun. I understand a welcome back cheer, not a standing ovation.

I realize that Yankees will be in the same situation on Opening Day next year. Alex Rodriguez is serving a season-long suspension over the same incident. The investigation into Alex Rodriguez has been going on for a lot longer, and Yankee fans have been split on their opinion of him. At the Stadium, some fans have booed and some have cheered. Nevertheless, there are no unanimous ovations for a guy who may have tarnished the image of the Yankees and the image of baseball as a sport.

It reminds of a game I went to years ago, Armando Benitez’ first game as a Yankee. He came in to the game and was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos. I was on the booing side, because I remembered what he did. He famously hit Tino Martinez in the back with a fastball in 1998, clearing both benches in a famous brawl between the Orioles and the Yankees. That kind of thug behavior did not belong in an organization with our legacy, and at least some of the fans understood the difference between right and wrong.

This is what I love about Yankee fans. It is not about winning at any cost. It is about playing with honor and winning with integrity. It is about a team and a sport that I can point my kids to, showing them what hard work, honorable competition, and fair play looks like. I am just glad I am not alone.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!

A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE

(In Photo: Armando Benitez)

Let me start by stating I intend to say less than favorable things about the current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, many in the BBWAA and Hall of Fame voting in general in this piece.  I also want to congratulate Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas on becoming the latest group of players to be headed for Cooperstown. 

These three men are all deserving of a place in the Hall. The way they played the game, the numbers they put up and the manner in which they conducted themselves on and off the diamond make their inductions a no-brainer in my opinion.

I am writing about baseball, but I am not a baseball writer. It is not my profession. I receive no paycheck from a major publication or report to an editor. I understand how difficult it must be to cover the game. I get how challenging it is to break in and become a Buster Olney or Peter Gammons. I am in no way saying that anyone could do what these men and women do. What I am saying is that I absolutely feel that many of these “writers” have officially lost their minds and sense of who they really are with respect to the game and the men who play it. 

I remember the great Robert Duvall playing Sports writer Max Mercy in “The Natural”. And each year when the Hall of Fame vote is announced I think of the line he utters to Redford’s Roy Hobbs, “I am here to protect this game.” With all due respect to Max and the Baseball writers of today, GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! Don’t spew that holier than thou nonsense at us. You write about the game. That is the beginning and end of your job description. The players play. The fans watch and cheer. And the writers write. That is the dynamic. Don’t make yourself out to be more than you are. You build up and tear down the heroes. You get the temperature of the clubhouse and add fuel to the fires of rivalries. When there is scandal or wrong doing you report it. You are not Judge, Jury and Executioner, ladies and gents. That is NOT your job. 

Giving the writers a Hall of Fame vote has never sat well with me. Why should they hold the keys to immortality? Why should they decide what makes a player one for the ages? I’ll be honest; I’m a bit of a bias jock at heart. I firmly feel that many of those who write about the men who play the game don’t like them. They have a deep seeded resentment towards the guys on the field. I may be wrong, but that’s how I feel. I think they take the one thing they have over the players and use it to get back at them. 

Seriously can ANYONE explain to me how Greg Maddux doesn’t receive 100% of the vote for the Hall? It is truly insane to say; “I don’t see Maddux as an All-time great.” Yet 16 of these so-called baseball writers didn’t vote for him. Yeah, you’re protecting the game all right. Maybe you should look into a new career as an E! News reporter. You can spew gossip and innuendo and think you’re a celebrity because you talk about them.

There are writers that voted for Armando Benitez this year…that’s a joke. Armando was a good player, but unless you’re related to him you don’t give him a Hall of Fame vote. Especially considering Biggio and Mattingly are still out there. Now, I don’t think Donnie is a Hall of Famer. He is a borderline candidate…but WAY more deserving of a vote then the great Benitez!! That is inexcusable and that “writer” should have his or her vote taken away. Why not just vote for Anthony Weiner or Kelly Clarkson?

Another thing that has me livid with this arrogant process is the steroid dilemma and reign of “Bud The Disgraceful”. Look, I think that if you took PEDs than you should be penalized no question. If you take them again you should be out of the game immediately…but if they don’t have definitive proof linking you to HGH, Andro and so on, then play ball. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are now like Voldemort to MLB and Selig. They act as if they never existed and dare not speak their names.

I’m sorry, Bud, they do exist. They did a lot to make the game money and YOU let anything they might have done happen. YOU needed to bring the game back to popularity after the 1994 season and “Chicks dig the long ball” right? Bud wants to leave office as the man who cleaned up baseball…but Bud dirtied it up! And the real crime is that he and the baseball writers will hold the players Selig used to bring the game back from the brink out of the Hall. That is a FACT! Crazy how a guy nicknamed “Bud” is no friend to the game.

Look at the Alex Rodriguez case. Do actually think if ARod was “Big PAP-ULAR”, selling apparel and well liked that Bud would be going after him with such venom? NO HOW, NO WAY, folks. This whole thing is such a sham. And the truth is it all cheapens the honor that it is to named to the Hall of Fame. Writers going on rumor or suspicion will not vote for a player they believe used PEDs. That is a very slippery slope gang. 

Between self-important baseball writers playing God with their undeserved vote, to a Commissioner who smugly stood watch and profited over the rampant juicing in the sport, the shine on the Hall of Fame plaques has dulled. I simply don’t care what they think. I will not put any weight into the decisions of these writers and those in the Selig Regime. There are crooks and criminals in every clubhouse in baseball…but there are more on the outside looking in. The game is worse off because of who is minding the store.

 I don’t want to paint all writers with the same brush. I think a guy like Jack Curry is a great example a writer who reports on the game and knows his place within the bigger picture. I just wish there were more of him. 

I love baseball. I always have and always will. I liken it to listening to a great record. I see the poetry in it. It’s just one of the greatest things around. It’s our game. It belongs to the players and the fans…all the other stuff? Well, the suits and writers can have that. I don’t need to have them deem a player worthy to make one a Hall of Famer in my book.

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."



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