Best Brawls: #4 Barrett v. Pierzynski 2006

Date:

May 20th, 2006 - Wrigley Field

The Preface:

I so wanted to save this gem for my final "Best Brawl," but I got impatient (aka lazy) and couldn't wait anymore. This is one of my all-time favorite fights because of one thing: It was the White Sox on the receiving end and of all the players in MLB, it was AJ Pierzynski. If you know me, you know that I absolutely loathe AJ I tried to enjoy a Twins game once at U.S. Cellular field and who comes in and fucks everything up with a go-ahead homerun for the White Sox?...that's right, AJ Pierzynski. He used to be with the Twins and I didn't like him then and I have even more reason to hate him now.

The Catalyst:

As almost any true baseball fan knows, the annual cross-town series between the Cubs and White Sox is a big deal every year. The teams hate each other, their fans hate each other, and it all usually goes down right in the middle of the year when everyone starts to feel like kung-fu fighting. 2006 was no exception. I couldn't give you the exact inning this all went down, but needless to say, Pierzynski was on 3rd and Brian Anderson hit a fly-ball that was sufficiently deep that the slow-legged AJ thought he could score. As the ball was caught he started for home and the throw easily beat him, but as a player should he plowed right into a waiting Michael Barrett. When the ump called him safe, AJ slapped the plate and Barrett didn't like that at all and got up in AJ's grill. Barrett proceeded to grab AJ, he wound up and decked AJ right in the ear. This sparked off a bench-clearing brawl which involved Scott Podsednik tackling Barrett, Brian Anderson started fighting with John Mabry (Cubs 1st basemen) and the crowd...well the crowd yelled because that's about all they can do. Dusty Baker probably sat there and frowned.

The Outcome:

The four players who threw punches were ejected (Pierzynski, Barrett, Anderson and Mabry) and Barrett received a fine and a 10-game suspension, which he appealed, but ended up serving anyway. Pierzynski got what he deserved, a punch right in the face, though I wish Barrett had a little better aim and had actually given the little bitch a black eye.