Red Sox-Yankees rivalry heats up with bench-clearing brawl
Several years ago, it looked as though the glory days of the once-heated rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees were over.
The fact of the matter was that following the 2000s, when both clubs jostled for supremacy of the AL East, neither team was consistently good anymore. One squad might make the playoffs one year, only for the other to be mediocre, or even worse.
But now, all that appears to be changing. New York and Boston both made the postseason last year, then went out and added some big pieces in the offseason.
It’s early, but it looks like the battle to win the AL East is going to be dogfight. And if Wednesday night’s bench-clearing brawl at Fenway Park was any indication, the remaining matchups between these two teams in 2018 are going to be must-watch affairs.
It all started in the top of the third inning, when Yankees designated hitter Tyler Austin slid hard and late into second base in order to break up a double play. His spikes, though, caught shortstop Brock Holt right in the calf area.
He overslid,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Austin, according to USA Today. “His spikes were up.”
Here is Austin’s slide that triggered Brock Holt and the Sox. pic.twitter.com/hUX7NNCzXq
— Bronx Bomber Ball (@BronxBomberBall) April 12, 2018
Both teams’ benches and bullpens cleared following that play, but nothing more came of it, at least, not until a few innings later.
In the top of the seventh, Austin paid the price for his slide. With the Yankees up 10-6 and Austin at bat, Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly hit the designated hitter in the back with a 98 mph fastball.
Austin was unsurprisingly livid. He immediately slammed his bat on home plate and glared at Kelly. Austin took several steps toward the mound, and when Kelly removed his glove, Austin started sprinting toward the pitcher.
“I felt like that it was intentional and I didn’t want to let anybody push myself around or do anything like that,” Austin said after the game. according to MLB.com. “That’s why I went out there.”
When Austin reached Kelly, the two players started going at it, throwing punches as their teammates ran out of their respective dugouts. The bullpens soon followed, and the scene quickly descended into chaos.
“I was ready to defend myself,” said Kelly, who claimed he did not intentionally hit Austin with the fastball.
“Someone comes in my property in my backyard? I have two dogs. Ready to come on my property and I’m being attacked, then I’m ready to defend myself,” he added.
Benches clear, punches thrown in Yankees-Red Sox after Tyler Austin is hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly. pic.twitter.com/wvqoak8QMV
— MLB (@MLB) April 12, 2018
Kelly and Austin were eventually separated, and after being ejected, both players left the field sporting their war wounds. Austin had a bloody lip, while Kelly’s uniform was torn and his neck had spots of blood on it.
Two other Yankees personnel were also ejected — reliever Tommy Kahnle, who claimed he had been pushed by an umpire, and third-base coach Phil Nevin, who exchanged words with the Red Sox dugout.
The brawl prompted a variety of reactions from players, coaches and even one Hall-of-Fame pitcher.
“I probably said something I shouldn’t have to start the whole thing, so I’m sorry for that,” Holt said, as reported by CBS News. “But I just wanted (Austin) to know that it was a bad slide, and I think everyone on the field knows that it was, and I think he knows that now, too.”
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was in the center of the brawl, but as a peacemaker, not an active participant.
“I saw Kelly was on top of Tyler after he tried to tackle him, so my job was just to get Kelly up and get him off,” Judge said. “No one ever likes getting hit with 98 to the back. Everybody was pretty upset about it.”
Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, meanwhile, didn’t think Austin’s slide warranted retaliation. “You don’t need to drill him for that (slide),” he said.
Stanton’s sentiments were shared by his manager, Aaron Boone, and his general manager, Brian Cashman.
“I thought it was a hard slide into second, nothing remotely dirty about it,” Boone said. “To take matters into your own hands and you go hit one of our guys for that, I thought was an overreaction. I didn’t think it was right.”
Cashman was in complete agreement.
“There was no reason for fisticuffs to happen based on that slide,” he said, according to ESPN.
But former Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, who was involved in a brawl himself when he threw then-72-year-old Yankees assistant coach Don Zimmer to the ground during the 2003 ALCS, thought Kelly didn’t do anything wrong.
The only thing I would had done different than Joe Kelly tonight, is I would’ve hit Tyler Austin at his previous at bat. Other than that, Kelly executed perfectly #YankeesvsRedSox
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) April 12, 2018
The quote of the night may have come from Red Sox pitcher David Price, who put into words how most fans were feeling.
“Red Sox-Yankees,” Price said. “That’s what everybody wants. That’s what they got.”
The Yankees went on to win the game 10-7.
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