Watch: 2018's first bench-clearing brawl sparked by player going after manager
Bench-clearing brawls are as part and parcel of the baseball experience as overpriced concessions and home runs.
It was only going to be a matter of time before the 2018 MLB season would have its own big brawl, but few could have predicted the circumstances surrounding it.
The incident started during the second inning of Sunday’s game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals. Things started off innocuously enough.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo left the dugout to argue about strike calls with the umpire. So far, nothing particularly unusual.
Based on Lovullo’s animated fervor, it became abundantly clear that the second-year Diamondbacks manager was looking to get kicked out, which, again, is not all that out of the ordinary in baseball.
Things took a turn when Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina heard or saw something from Lovullo that sent him into a rage.
Molina eventually had to be restrained by both the umpire and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.
It would prove to be too little, too late, as the entire scene quickly devolved into chaos.
Bench clearing baseball is fun. #GenerationDbacks pic.twitter.com/M5Qv21CGsu
— Noah (@noahcb_) April 8, 2018
From all indications, no punches were thrown and nobody was injured.
According to ESPN, Lovullo made an apparent “gesture” towards Molina, incensing the longtime Cardinals catcher.
Some observers have theorized that Lovullo made an offensive gesture to Molina because he was upset that Molina had been framing pitches early in the game.
Based on the lack of actual fighting that occurred, it’ll be interesting to see how MLB handles disciplinary issues.
Of note, only Lovullo was ejected. Molina remained in the game.
While it’s still very early in the season, both the Cardinals and Diamondbacks have their eyes on the postseason.
The Cardinals are looking to end a 2-year playoff drought, while the Diamondbacks will look to improve upon their performance last postseason, when they were swept in the NLDS by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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