No one wants to be thrown at when they're hitting.
Baseballs hurt, especially when it's a 95-MPH fastball that drills a batter. Bean balls are also more dangerous than many fans realize. Major League Baseball has already seen two hitters this year, one of which was superstar Bryce Harper, take fastballs to the face. The results can be ugly and horrific.
A Mexican Baseball League game cleared the benches after a hitter was thrown at and subsequently charged the mound, throwing his bat at the pitcher in the process.
Hitter Throws Bat at Pitcher in Mexican League Brawl
¡Aaatangana! Otra bronca más ?, ahora le pegaron a Gabriel Gutiérrez que contestó lanzando su bat al pitcher. Después Junior Lake y Peter O'Brien sacaron sus dotes luchísticos...
8 ? | ? Rieleros 3-5 Toros ?#TorosImponentes #LMB #PasiónRielera pic.twitter.com/uYalsoXlhw
— Michael_ethereum (@cur_shadowages) June 24, 2021
RELATED: Minor Leaguers Throw Punches in Massive Bench-Clearing Brawl
The Toros de Tijuana were taking on the Rieleros de Aguascalientes in Tijuana, Mexico on Wednesday night. The game got chippy by the time the eighth inning rolled around.
Rieleros pitcher Brandon Quintero threw a fastball that drilled Toros catcher Gabriel Gutierrez in his left arm. He immediately charged the pitcher after the bean ball. That's when he wound up and threw the bat toward Quintero. Thankfully, he missed.
Gutierrez also threw his helmet at Quintero in the fit of rage. The benches cleared, and just when things looked to be calming down, punches were thrown and scrums broke out on the left side of the diamond.
According to TMZ, three players were ejected—likely including the pitcher and hitter. Tijuana player Leandro Castro spoke to media after the game and said in Spanish the Rieleros "have something personal against us." Yeah, I'd say so considering the catcher set up outside and the pitch flew at the batter.
The Toros, who are managed by three-time MLB All-Star Omar Vizquel, won the game 5-3 as ex-MLB closer Fernando Rodney finished the game.
The two teams are scheduled to play each other again Thursday night. Hopefully, the bad blood doesn't carry over into their next game.
