The most memorable brawl of the 2009 baseball season may have very well occurred this week. With a skirmish that took place between veteran Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox and Rick Porcello of the Tigers, there were some interesting storylines in place. Old vs. young, and the fact that the Sox and Tigers had thrown at each other the night before.
On the night of Youk's fight with Porcello, tensions were running high. Very early into the ball game, the Boston Red Sox hit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera in the hand. This shook him up, and he was forced to leave the game. The young rookie, Rick Porcello of the Tigers, took note.
Porcello got his revenge pretty quickly, as just an inning later, Victor Martinez of the Red Sox came to the plate. Porcello shook up Martinez by nearly hitting him with an inside pitch, and Martinez knew exactly what was going on. Taking a few steps toward the mound and speaking his mind to Porcello, Martinez showed his feelings about the incident.
While Martinez wasn't hit, the very next batter was. Kevin Youkilis was nailed in the upper back by a Porcello pitch and tensions immediately flared. Charging the mound, Youkilis literally threw his helmet at Porcello on the way, and then tried to tackle him. Porcello somehow ended up on top.
Thinking about baseball fights, this was definitely an entertaining one. As far as the fight strategies of both players goes, I have to give them a failing grade. To throw a helmet is simply inappropriate. What is he, a pro wrestler using props like that?
The second mistake Youk made was the tackle. When your adrenalin is pumping and you charge the mound you are supposed to try to give the pitcher a good lickin'. Youk is supposed to throw a punch. Tackling him was pointless. If you charge the mound you need to get a good shot on the pitcher. The only thing that happened was a big dog pile.
Porcello also made a mistake. After hitting Youk he drifted off the mound towards first base. The Tigers' job was to prevent Youk from getting to Porcello. Didn't anyone see the Mota and Mike Piazza brawl? At first base was a young bench player, only on the field because Miguel Cabrera had to leave the game. Porcello should have drifted towards third. Brandon Inge is a veteran, who was a catcher for a long time. He knew that he needed to protect his pitcher! When the dugouts and bullpens clear, and the pitcher tackles the batter, something needs to happen.
It seemed like Youk wanted all hell to break loose, and once he got to Porcello he decided to hold back. He already charged! And it's a great thing Youk plays in this era, because back in the day pitchers threw inside to batters. It was part of the game!
On the night of Youk's fight with Porcello, tensions were running high. Very early into the ball game, the Boston Red Sox hit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera in the hand. This shook him up, and he was forced to leave the game. The young rookie, Rick Porcello of the Tigers, took note.
Porcello got his revenge pretty quickly, as just an inning later, Victor Martinez of the Red Sox came to the plate. Porcello shook up Martinez by nearly hitting him with an inside pitch, and Martinez knew exactly what was going on. Taking a few steps toward the mound and speaking his mind to Porcello, Martinez showed his feelings about the incident.
While Martinez wasn't hit, the very next batter was. Kevin Youkilis was nailed in the upper back by a Porcello pitch and tensions immediately flared. Charging the mound, Youkilis literally threw his helmet at Porcello on the way, and then tried to tackle him. Porcello somehow ended up on top.
Thinking about baseball fights, this was definitely an entertaining one. As far as the fight strategies of both players goes, I have to give them a failing grade. To throw a helmet is simply inappropriate. What is he, a pro wrestler using props like that?
The second mistake Youk made was the tackle. When your adrenalin is pumping and you charge the mound you are supposed to try to give the pitcher a good lickin'. Youk is supposed to throw a punch. Tackling him was pointless. If you charge the mound you need to get a good shot on the pitcher. The only thing that happened was a big dog pile.
Porcello also made a mistake. After hitting Youk he drifted off the mound towards first base. The Tigers' job was to prevent Youk from getting to Porcello. Didn't anyone see the Mota and Mike Piazza brawl? At first base was a young bench player, only on the field because Miguel Cabrera had to leave the game. Porcello should have drifted towards third. Brandon Inge is a veteran, who was a catcher for a long time. He knew that he needed to protect his pitcher! When the dugouts and bullpens clear, and the pitcher tackles the batter, something needs to happen.
It seemed like Youk wanted all hell to break loose, and once he got to Porcello he decided to hold back. He already charged! And it's a great thing Youk plays in this era, because back in the day pitchers threw inside to batters. It was part of the game!
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