Top 20 MLB brawls of all time

May 29, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Hunter Strickland (60) and Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) in a fight after Harper was hit by the pitch of Strickland during the eighth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

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FLUSHING, NY – JULY: Ray Knight #22 of the New York Mets runs the baseline during a July game at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /

10. Mets vs. Reds, July 22, 1986

If I had my choice of one historic MLB team to spend an entire year following and partying with, it would have to be the 1986 New York Mets. Only a few days before their brawl with the Cincinnati Reds, four Mets players were arrested at two in the morning after an altercation with police in Houston.

It was a simpler time.

"The players arrived at the park grim-faced tonight, but their teammates attempted to turn the episode into something light-hearted. Adhesive tape had been placed vertically on the four players’ locker stalls, making them look like jail cells. A beer can and a plastic cup, labeled ”tequila,” was sitting on each player’s stool, along with a bar of soap, a razor, one cigarette and a book of matches."

The Mets brawl with the Reds was one of epic proportions, and was started by one of the players arrested at the bar, Ray Knight. The infielder just so happened to be an amateur boxing champion during his youth. Knight started the brawl after throwing a punch at Eric Davis after they became tangled up at third base.

The brawl started in extra innings, and so many players were ejected that the Mets were forced to use pitchers Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco in the outfield. The pitchers alternated facing left-handed and right-handed batters for over four innings. The Mets eventually won the game and the 1986 World Series.

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