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By now you've seen or likely read about the ugly brawl on Sunday involving the Rangers and the Blue Jays. Well, the video posted below is perhaps the most bizarre and surreal fight involving the Cardinals in my lifetime, going back to 1986, in fact, when the Giants were visiting Busch Memorial Stadium. The two teams enjoyed it so much they decided to tangle again two years later - an event which caused most of us to hate Will Clark all up until the day he became a Cardinals in 2000.
But watch this ridiculous scene from the first skirmish. And just a heads-up, if you're at all put off by mild violence or just grown men straight up acting like lunatics (or offended anytime someone expects you to watch a YouTube video that's 10+ minutes long) feel free to skip ahead. Or if you're interested in grown men straight up acting like lunatics but don't want to watch a 10+ minute video, you can expedite the process and read the minute by minute recap below.
00:18: Look out, Vince!
00:54: Whitey Herzog laughs at your childish games.
01:44: After the announcers, (Vin Scully and another guy Vin later calls "Al" but it's not Al Michaels EDIT: Not Vin Scully) Ken Wilson and Al Hrabosky, spend the previous minute defending Giants pitcher Frank Williams and stating that he likely wasn't throwing at Vince Coleman intentionally he then CLEARLY throws at Vince Coleman intentionally.
01:52: Benches clear!
02:07: Whoa, Ozzie was "Smith" in 1986 not "O. Smith?" Huh.
02:11: Hey, it's Jeffrey Leonard. Boo. BOOOOOOOO!
02:25: Managers Whitey Herzog and Roger Craig are yelling at each other.
02:31: They're being restrained!
02:50: Now you've done it - we're past the benches being cleared and it's now a straight up human pile of fists and eye-gouges behind home plate. Heavens.
02:57-03:14: This is insane.
03:15: Whitey just tackled somebody!
03:44: Listen to the crowd: "Whitey...Whitey...Whitey..." (This sounds way better if you understand the context that a man named "Whitey" Herzog used to manage the Cardinals.) That's the fully-amped Busch of my youth and one that I don't see all that often these days.
03:58: Vince Coleman is...upset.
04:30: The police THE ACTUAL POLICE have arrived followed by Vin Scully Wilson saying, "The umpires want the police off the field," which is perplexing because they have exerted no control over the current mayhem whatsoever.
05:13: Vince Coleman. Still very upset. Had to be restrained and carried off the field by his own teammates.
05:30: Random guy in Cardinals dugout in short shorts.
05:50: Whitey straight up giving umpire John McSherry the business followed by more "Whitey...Whitey...Whitey..." (McSherry was the umpire who tragically died on the field in Cincinnati on opening day in 1996.)
06:35: Brawl is basically over.
07:09: Ken Dayley is thinking he needs a new profession.
08:25: Giants' third baseman Chris Brown has been ejected although it's not clear why.
09:05: Chris Brown wants a piece of an idiot fan who threw something at him.
09:34: Al wants the fan who was ejected for apparently throwing a liquid on one of the Giants coaches to go directly to jail. I'm with Al.
10:13: Not sure what's happening but we're left with the impression that the fans behind the Giants dugout aren't treating them all that kindly.
10:20: Hey, who the heck are you buddy and why am I now being shown highlights of a Reds game?
10:36: Oh, I see, it's footage of another fight from the exact same night. Eric Davis vs. Ray Knight of the Mets. I think the Cardinals portion of this YouTube clip is over so I'm going to stop watching.
And...scene.
Here's what you may have missed yesterday at VEB:
Yadier Molina
I wrote about Yadier Molina and how well he's been hitting so far this year.
Carlos Martinez
Read this excellent piece from Joe Schwarz. He examines what's wrong with Carlos Martinez's changeup and whether he's tipping his pitches.
Matt Holliday
Remember the dream, mine and yours, of Matt Holliday at first base? Thing is, now that it's a reality it's sort of weird.
Down on the farm
Newcomer Josey Curtis wrote an informative piece detailing the news and notes from the Cardinals' farm. From Palm Springs to Peoria to Memphis. It's all here. And welcome Josey!
Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone.