Fansided

Top 20 MLB brawls of all time

By Joshua Sadlock

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
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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 20
Next
May 18, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves fans hold a sign with a picture of first baseman Jace Peterson (8) edited onto the body of Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor punching Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) before a game at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
May 18, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves fans hold a sign with a picture of first baseman Jace Peterson (8) edited onto the body of Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor punching Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) before a game at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

16. Rougned Odor vs. Jose Bautista, May 15, 2016

We all knew the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays would find their way into a little fisticuffs at some point after the epic 2015 ALDS that was punctuated with Jose Bautista hitting one of the biggest home runs in MLB history and then flipping his bat to the roof of the Rogers Centre. It only took about a month into the next season for the teams to get after it on the diamond.

It was the eighth inning of the final game of the Jays visit to Toronto in mid-May. Bautista had not been plunked leading up to that point, and the Rangers had to take their chance, even in a one-run game. AL West and East teams only play a home-and-home series, and beaning Bautista at the Rogers Centre would have been out of the question.

Bautista actually took his medicine fairly well and went down to first base without issue. When he was given a chance to break up a double play the very next batter, however, he did not miss his chance to get a little revenge.

Rougned Odor nailed Bautista with one of the most vicious sucker punches in recent MLB history. Baseball fans have become accustomed to seeing brawls with a bunch of pushing and shoving and no real action. This brawl got out of control, with Kevin Pillar and Josh Donaldson also getting very heated.

As much as Joey Bats rubs most people the wrong way, he came out of the fight looking like the classier individual. The Rangers did not have a legitimate reason to bean him, and he did not technically overslide the bag.

Home/MLB