The Greatest Baseball Brawls

You might not know this, but baseball wasn't always a team sport. It was originally a club sport. Those lucky enough to play the game for a living joined a club. This is why when problems arise, the benches clear. On the field, a player isn't an individual. A player is the whole club. When one engages in a fight, they all engage in the fight. It's the was it was, is, and will be into the future so long as baseball doesn't get nerfed like every other sport besides hockey.

So over the years, while we've seen a bunch of bench-clearing confrontations, there really haven't been many fights. With contracts in the hundreds of millions of dollars, these almost-dainty ball players don't want to risk injury over a little ego. But luckily for us, those egos get big enough that not even all the tax-free money in the world could convince them to walk away, and the end result is epic moments that live forever online.

For me, that Odor/Bautista fight will stand at the top of my list. Not only because the Texas Rangers is my team, but because Bautista is a guy people love to hate. The ego on this guy is massive. That doesn't mean he's not a stud player, they guy can play ball... but this was just the most satisfying thing in the world to watch.

On the other hand, the other most epic baseball fight moment in my memory will always be that Nolan Ryan fight. I always forget the name of the guy he slaughtered on that mound, but I can't forget that headlock and subsequent beating he dealt out at 46 years old. Forty.Six.Years.Old! and he whipped that stud batter literally half his age when he figured he'd dance with the greatest pitcher to live.

There are other fights online. Hundreds of them. You're more than welcome to follow the link from the video above and cruise through the rabbit-hole over on YouTube. If you find a better moment in baseball brawling, share it with me. I've seen a ton, but these two are my personal most memorable.