Red Sox Izzy Alcantara Channels Inner Chuck Norris
By David Hill
Few things in baseball will grab as much attention as a brawl, particularly one that involves a player actually landing a punch or a kick. It was one such incident that made Red Sox farmhand Israel Alcantara a household name for a time in 2001.
We typically do not expect much from a ‘brawl’ in baseball. Players are usually milling about, yelling at one another, and the incident passes without much of anything happening. These moments are more about trying to make a statement than any real threat of fisticuffs breaking out.
However, every once in a while, a player will channel their inner Evander Holyfield or Chuck Norris and causes mayhem and destruction due to their frustrations. That happened on this day in 2001, when Red Sox minor league slugger Israel Alcantara was hit by a pitch, and snapped en route to becoming a constant presence on sports highlight shows.
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The moment started innocently enough. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Blas Cedeno attempted to come inside, and hit Alcantara with the pitch. He was leading the International League in both batting average and home runs, and had hit a home run the previous day. Alcantara was also hit in a previous meeting, after he hit two home runs off pitcher Pete Zamora on May 1st.
This time, Alcantara had enough of being used for target practice. He responded by kicking Red Barons catcher Jeremy Salazar in the facemask before charging the mound, throwing a punch at Cedeno that did not connect. He then turned towards the field and the players running at him, continuing to fight until he was tackled by infielder Kevin Orie.
For his part in the brawl, Alcantara was suspended for six games and relieved of his spot on the International League All-Star Game. Orie, and Paw Sox pitcher Jesus Pena, were suspended for three games, while Cedeno was hit with a one game ban for instigating the fight by hitting Alcantara.
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Israel Alcantara was a classic AAAA player, someone who torched minor league pitching but could not hit at the same rate in the Majors. However, he left his mark on the game, and on Jeremy Salazar’s facemask, when he channelled his inner Chuck Norris on this day in 2001.