Bring It On

Yesterday’s Royals-Tigers tilt brings to mind several other bench clearing incidents through the years. Here are my top five most notable Royals bench clearing incidents in reverse order:

Round 1:
Mike Sweeney gets MidEvil on Jeff Weaver August 10, 2001

Weaver calls the Royals first baseman a choice name and Sweeney goes after him. Weaver’s a punk. Sweeney’s a good guy. A classic battle of good vs. evil. Who knew, Sweeney had that kind of fire in him?

Round 2:
Brian McRae charges the Texas Ranger dugout, July 29, 1993

After Ranger starter Charlie Liebrandt hit two Royals (including McRae) in the game’s first five innings, tensions were high. When Bob Patterson hit McRae in the eighth, the centerfielder had had enough and decided to confront who he considered to be the source of the pitches…Rangers manager Kevin Kennedy. In walking toward the Rangers dugout, McRae starts one of the strangest fights in baseball history.

Round 3:
Felix Martinez goes Daniel-San vs. the Angels

An otherwise ordinary bench clearing “meeting” gets intense when Royals shortstop Martinez freaks out and lays a drop kick on an unsuspecting opponent. As if his career .214 average wasn’t enough, the Royals sour on the young shortstop and he is released the next season.

Round 4:
Ed Farmer wipes out the Royals May 8, 1979

In this game, Farmer hits Frank White in the hand in the first inning, breaking it and causing the second baseman to miss 33 games. Not done yet, in the fifth Farmer drills Al Cowens in the head, fracturing his jaw and causing him to miss 21 games. Cowens gets revenge the next year when he charges the mound after hitting a ground ball against Farmer. I have never and will never forgive Farmer for what he did. Clearly not one of my “favorites” but included on this list for the way it altered the Royals season.

Round 5:
George Brett vs. Graig Nettles, Game 5 1977 ALCS, October 9, 1977

Brett slides hard into third going for a triple, Nettles kicks at him, Brett comes up swinging and all hell breaks loose. One of the best moments of the Royals/Yankees rivalry. I remember watching in horror as it unfolded, fearing that Brett would be tossed, but that didn’t happen for some reason. The fight was also notable when Yankees catcher Thurmon Munson was lying on Brett at the bottom of the pile and tells him, “Don’t worry George. I won’t let anyone hit you while you’re down.” Years later, Brett would recall that Munson was a man of his word. Considering the situation, the opponent and the combatants, it is unlikely this fight will ever be topped.



Today on Royals Authority:
My recap of the weekend and round by round breakdown of the Hernandez-Guillen tilt.