Are Brawls good for the game of Baseball?
By Josh Sippie
Full contact sports like Hockey and Football expect brawls. They’re going to happen and as we see in Hockey, they’re actually permitted. But for a sport like baseball, brawls are not nearly as common. But when they happen, they happen. Whereas Hockey will be five on five and football could be slightly bigger depending on how long it takes the refs to step in, baseball brawls are an entire organizational affair. The bullpen comes in as reinforcements, the benches clear, the managers are in the thick of it and coaches make bullheaded charges at players.
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But while they’re a part of the game, are they good for the game?
From an entertainment perspective, they’re fantastic. Nothing fires up a rivalry like the two teams throwing down the fisticuffs and tussling it out in the middle of the diamond. And you know it’ll make Sportscenter, even if it’s two of the worst teams in the game, brawls always make headlines and get people to pay attention. While baseball is bemoaned by some as a slow, non-contact, boring sport, nothing nips that rumor in the bud like a brawl. And no brawl is like a baseball brawl.
In any other sport, there’s usually one clear offender and one clear victim. But in baseball, while it may start that way, it quickly turns into an absolute free for all where any player can seek any opposing player and unleash the fury. Any grudge a player has harbored toward anyone on the opposing roster can be resolved very quickly. Mens Journal did an excellent piece on the anatomy of a brawl not long ago (see here) and while they make the point that it’s a relatively safe place within a brawl, the chaos is pretty… well, chaotic.
So the brawls are good for entertainment value, but are they good for the teams?
On the surface, the answer is no. Anybody high up in the club will tell you they don’t want their players in a benches clearing brawl. Suspensions and fines are soon to follow. But if you dig beneath that, brawls might actually be good for teams as well.
Take the most brawling-happy team in the league this year – the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are the best team in baseball along with being involved with the most brawls. Coincidence? Maybe, but consider this: A brawl is a way for a team to unleash their frustrations. It loosens up the players and in a sense, it may even build some camaraderie seeing all your brothers in arms charging the field on your behalf.
Also consider that whenever a brawl is initiated, teams go out of their way to stick it to their opposition in the game as well, not just from within the brawl but in the runs category too.
I’d say it’s a little more than a coincidence that the most-oft-to-tussle team is also the best team in the league.
Now let’s consider if brawls are good for the players. When it comes to getting involved in brawls, players are putting themselves at risk. While injuries to players within brawls aren’t the most common (as you can see from this list compiled by the New York Daily News), there have been injuries.
However, consider two of the most recent injuries from brawls. In 2010, the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals kindled the flame of their rivalry with one of the more intense brawls we’ve seen. At one point in the brawl, Johnny Cueto hiked himself up on the netting of the backstop and proceeded to kick Jason LaRue in the head repeatedly. Jason LaRue suffered a severe concussion and was never able to return to baseball.
Then, consider the breaking of Zack Greinke‘s collar bone. In 2013, Carlos Quentin charged the mound and got into a wrestling match with the much-smaller Greinke. When the two emerged, Greinke had a broken collar bone.
Injuries of that severity are few and far between but the fact that they happen means that they can be avoided by cracking down on baseball brawls. But in the overall, grand scheme of baseball, are brawls good for the game? I leave it up to you: