25 April 2023 , 13:54
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Coaches from opposing teams engaged in a shock brawl during a minor league baseball game.
The game took place between the New York Yankees’ and Philadelphia Phillies’ Single-A affiliates and the chaos ensued when Tampa Tarpons’ Alex Bustamante threw a pitch at Clearwater Thresher’s Erick Brito. Brito's furious manager Marty Malloy proceeded to throw a haymaker at the Tarpons' pitching coach Gerardo Casadiego.
This swing knocked the hat off of the 42-year-old's head, and he retaliated by throwing a punch of his own which connected with another member of the Thrashers who fell to the ground. This sparked chaos as each member of both teams sprinted from the dugout to where the altercation took place.
More punches were thrown as the Tarpons' hitting coach Rick Guarno was seen hitting the ground during the melee. The fight resulted in several ejections being handed out and once the situation had cooled, the game resumed 20 minutes later. The Threshers went on to convincingly defeat the Tarpons and win the game 12-3. The video was captured on film by minor league reporter John Brophy.
The Phillies will be delighted that their Single-A affiliate team was able to clinch the win, especially following the violence in the middle of the game. But one of the Phillies' Major League Baseball players is unhappy with MLB stadiums opting to extend their beer sales deadline this season.
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MLB games are finishing quicker thanks to the introduction of a shot clock, but on the flip side refreshment sales have decreased. Approximately $280,000 (£223,700) to $1.1million (£878,880) could be lost in lost beer sales according to sport business insider Joe Pompliano.
Furthermore, some teams have opted to push back their seventh-inning cut-off point for serving alcohol, something Phillies star Matt Strahm thinks is jeopardising the safety of the fans. "The reason we stopped in the seventh before was to give our fans time to sober up and drive home safe, correct?" the pitcher asked on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast earlier this month.
As a result of the brawl the game was delayed by 20 minutes (YouTube/"HANDLE")"So now, with a faster-pace game - and me just being a man of common sense - if the game is going to finish quicker, would we not move the beer sales back to the sixth inning to give our fans time to sober up and drive home? Instead, we're going to the eighth, and now you're putting our fans and our family at risk driving home with people who have just drank beers 22 minutes ago."
Though he remains worried, Strahm is aware that the decision was made for financial reasons, but thinks fan safety should be the priority. "My thing is, when you're looking at the safety of your fans, that's probably not the smartest decision to extend it into the eighth," he added.
"But, just using common sense - we stopped it in the seventh for the safety of fans and people getting home. Like, it just, it makes no sense to me that you're going to allow it to the eighth inning."