Loading ...Know that old line about going to a fight and a hockey game broke out?
Well, that was what happened last night at the Dayton Dragons game that I attended…
Update: Article on SI.com, and another one.
Update: Peoria pitcher held on $50K bond, preliminary hearing set for August 1. (DDN)
Update: Matt Klinker’s view on the brawl and tonight’s game (DDN)
Saturday Update: Another good article from Milb.com
According to the DDN, the tension started when Dayton starter Kyle Lotzkar hit a Peoria hitter in the first inning, the 4th Peoria player hit in 2 nights. I can’t speak for what happened on Wednesday night, but I will say that tensions started to rise in the bottom of the first when Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo hit Dragons SS Zach Cozart in the helmet.
Cozart lay on the ground for several minutes, his helmet was knocked about 5 feet by the pitch and the ball ended up at 1st base. All the time he was on the ground, Castillo never even came in to see how he was.
Later in the inning, Dragons 2B/SS Angel Cabrera (who had hit a walk off HR the night before) was hit by a pitch. Cabrera said something to Castillo, but the catcher and umpire kept it from going any further. One batter later, he slid hard into second and the Peoria SS took exception to it and words were exchanged again. (Earlier in the inning the Peoria 2B had broken his leg in a collision with Castillo.)
The DDN article says that Dragons manager Donnie Scott came down the line to complain when the next Dragons hitter, Brandon Menchaca, was brushed back; but from my vantage point, the problems started when interim manager Carmelo Martinez came onto the field (Ryne Sandberg, the regular Peoria manager was in Cooperstown for the HOF ceremonies), crossed both foul lines and confronted Scott. (At this point, in my opinion, the umpires lost control of the situation, they never should have allowed Martinez to cross the field and get in an altercation with the opposing manager.)
It clearly shows on the video (or here, different video) that Martinez pushed Scott. And the benches emptied. Then it really got wild…
Castillo then took the baseball (and he was showing about 95 MPH on the gun earlier in the inning) and threw it as hard as he could into the Dragons dugout…and the brawl was on. According to an article on MiLB.com, the ball apparently ricocheted into the stands and hit a fan. (The fan was later removed by an ambulance to a local hospital.)
The Milb article says that Castillo was arrested and charged with felony assault.
The fighting went on for about 10 minutes….at one point, one of the Dragons went into the dugout and tried to come out with a bat. Thank goodness, someone stopped him from getting out of the dugout. It looks on the video like Castillo may have tried to get a bat out of his dugout also, but my seat location doesn’t allow me to see the front of the visitor’s dugout. The game was held up for well over an hour as things cooled down and the umpires decided what to do. Initially, 15 players were ejected but then that was rescinded and no one was thrown out of the game (after the umps talked to the league offices and both parent organizations). Suspensions, etc will probably be handed out today. Reds GM Walt Jocketty and Director of Player development Terry Reynolds were in attendance in Dayton last night.
And guess who pitches tonight in the last game between these two teams?
Redleg Nation Spotlight Player Matt Klinker
Unbelievable.
Now that is what I call a fight!
Couple things…this is the exact reason why pitchers HAVE to bat. If they are such little bi***es that they throw a heater into the dugout, then they should have one thrown at them in the batter’s box. Coward!!!
And, if I’m correct, and it’s the same Carmello Martinez, I think he’s still a little upset Glenn Braggs snapped him off in the 1990 NLCS.
All the time he was on the ground, Castillo never even came in to see how he was.
The lack of common decency when a pitcher hits a batter is probably the single thing I dislike most about baseball.
A good old fashioned fight is one thing, but when people are trying to use bats and balls as weapons they seriously have problems. I’m glad to see Castillo got arrested, but it also makes me wonder how it’s any different when a pitcher intentionally throws at a batter.
(* Rob Dibble is still my favorite baseball player of all time)
I also noticed that a Peoria player broke his leg…looking at this video it appears it was the pitchers fault that he got hurt. What a moron!
Sorry – wrong video – this one shows the broken leg:
That’s amazing. Thanks for the report!
This is like a story from another era – was it Juan Marichal that once went after a guy (Roseboro?) with a bat…
Carmelo Martinez hit the first foul ball I ever caught. It was a line drive that I caught in right in front of my youngest brother’s face; he & the rest of my family hadn’t been paying attention.
Also, this is terrible news for Zach Cozart. He’s been having a terrific season at the plate which no one ever expected. Hope he’s okay.
I just checked and I’m very disappointed to say Peoria isn’t coming to town again this year. I did see them play a couple of months ago — I wish I had known then to heckle the s&*# out of Castillo.
That second video has a good angle on him throwing the fastball into the dugout. Wow, what an idiot! First time I’ve seen our ‘07 1st round pick on camera, and he’s tackling somebody!
Is there any word on the person who got hurt? The seats were in the general vicinity of my father’s company’s season tickets. Nonetheless, I hope the person is alright.
I read somewhere today, can’t remember where, that he’s been released from the hospital.
I haven’t heard anything about Cozart’s condition. My wife said she thought she saw him in the dugout later in the game, but wasn’t sure.
“but it also makes me wonder how it’s any different when a pitcher intentionally throws at a batter.”
Jared, for one thing, a batter who’s thrown at is at least expecting a ball to be thrown near him, and he’s wearing a helmet and carrying a defensive weapon at least. a player sitting in the dugout or a fan sitting behind the dugout isn’t exactly as prepared for a baseball to be thrown his way. I’m not condoning beanball by any stretch, but it’s a bit more believable if a pitcher argues that batters assume the risk of getting hit (“part of the game”) than it would be if he argues that spectators do.
Matt just told me that Zach’s fine. He’s not playing tonight, but he’ll be fine.
Absolutely ridiculous. There is nothing I hate more than a bunch of assholes getting in a fight in front of kids. This is totally unacceptable and that pitcher should be banned from baseball. At least suspended for the rest of the year. Picking up a bat or a baseball is weak. What a worthless piece of life. If he is allowed to play baseball again, I can’t wait to root against him for the rest of his worthless life.