Rangers pitcher calls out Twins catcher for starting bench-clearing scuffle: ‘Idiot’

The unwritten rules of baseball stike again.

On Friday night, the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins tossed a couple of high-speed projectiles in the wrong direction. When Mitch Garver, a former Twins catcher turned Rangers backstop, was plunked by Minnesota ace Sonny Gray in the fourth inning, the benches cleared.

The conflict started, however, in the third inning. With runners on the corners, Rangers pitcher Dane Dunning (allegedly) accidentally plunked Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers to load the bases. The latter did not react with much grace, staring down Dunning, who had his back turned. Garver, Jeffers' predecessor, stepped between them to stave off any conflict.

That conflict was not successfully staved off. When the Twins sent a fastball hurdling into Garver's hip an inning later, he briefly shrugged his arms with a "really, dude?" sort of expression while the benches and bullpens spilled onto the field.

It's sad to see former teammates cast in opposition to one another. Gray and Garver used to fight for the same side. Now the handshake line's going to be a bit awkward in the future. The Rangers didn't blame Gray, however. They blamed Jeffers.

Texas Rangers' Dane Dunning calls Minnesota Twins' Ryan Jeffers "idiotic"

"I had no idea where the ball was going,” Dunning told reporters (h/t Sports Illustrated). “There was no intention to hit him. I think it’s a little idiotic that he reacted the way he did and then coming back and retaliating."

Jeffers would surely contend that Dunning's HBP was intentional, but Dunning is probably telling the truth here. There's no justifiable reason to plunk Jeffers to load the bases in a close game. That would be bad baseball and completely outside the realm of logic.

Of course, logic and emotion can too often conflict inside a pitcher's mind. Jeffers' epic bat flip in the Twins' Thursday night win was fresh in everybody's memory. Jeffers' suspicion is justified. But even if the Jeffers plunk was intentional (which, again, would be objectively bad baseball), that doesn't make the Garver plunk any less dumb.

Garver held the same opinion as his pitcher. "It all started with their guy getting hit, the way he reacted,” he said. “First and third, we’re not trying to hit somebody intentionally to load the bases for Joey Gallo."

The reaction from Jeffers led to Garver getting beaned and a classic benches-clearing scuffle during which dozens of grown men sort of stand around awkwardly and look at each other while the affronted party is escorted to first base by a small battalion of coaches and umps.

Odds are, this is the closing chapter of the latest ridiculous MLB conflict. But, you never know. The third game of the four-game series will take place Saturday night. Keep your eyes peeled for further "retaliation."