Beanball and brawls

Gene Steinmeyer

I love baseball. I coached basketball, played football — although not well — and tried tennis, golf and competitive swimming with very poor results. In football, I was a skinny, 155-pound lineman. I was so bad I once was knocked backward so far by a charging 300-pound tackle that I almost blocked my own teammate’s punt.

The fear of drowning after taking a huge mouthful of water while trying to race much more talented swimmers or the sight of that 300-pound charging linemen isn’t close to the scariest thing I faced in sports.

My greatest fear was a fastball headed right for my nose. I was never noted for my quick reaction times. I was a “Punch and Judy hitter” during my high school playing days. That means I could make contact but the ball was never in danger of going over the fence. Most pitchers I faced wanted to strike everyone out and most didn’t have much control. I bailed fast when their fastballs went off-line and headed toward my noggin.

The Kansas City Royals have been involved in several situations this year where both teams claimed the pitchers were throwing at them. It has led to several bench clearings, but not really a bench-clearing brawl. When this happens, I always hear from retired major league players that today’s players don’t know how to fight.

I decided to check it out, both beanballs and fights. Only one player in major league history has ever been killed by a beanball. That came way back in 1920 when Ray Chapman was hit in the head and died 12 hours later.

Protective helmets weren’t required until 1971. Ray was the only player to ever die when beaned, but a passing dove was killed by a Randy Johnson fastball in 2001. Feathers went everywhere.

Several players have come close to death and had their careers shortened when they were beaned. The one I remember the most from my childhood is the case of Tony Conigliaro. Tony C, as he was called, was compared to the great Mickey Mantle.

Unfortunately, at 22, Tony C was hit in the head by a Jack Hamilton fastball. Tony wore a helmet, but not a flap that protects the check bone. The flap would have prevented catastrophic injury, but instead it ruined his eyesight. He made several comeback attempts, but all failed. Sadly, Tony C. had a heart attack, followed by strokes, and spent the final eight years of his life in a coma. He died at age 45.

Mickey Cochrane, a great catcher from the 1930s, had his career ended by a fastball to the skull in 1937. Kirby Puckett was beaned and never played again because he developed glaucoma.

Beanballs or brush-back pitches often lead to fights. Some of those fights will be remembered forever. The one that I’ll never forget is when Giants pitcher Juan Marichal hit Dodgers catcher, John Roseboro, in the head with a bat.

Marichal had knocked down Maury Wills and Ron Fairly the previous inning. Sandy Koufax, the Dodgers’ pitcher, wouldn’t retaliate, so Roseboro took matters into his own hands. As Marichal was batting, Roseboro returned a pitch to Koufax by whistling it right by his ear. For that disrespect, Roseboro paid for it with 14 stitches.

Probably the most violent night at a baseball game came on August 12, 1984 in San Diego. The Braves were in town and their starting pitcher, Puscual Perez, hit Allan Wiggins with the first pitch of the game. Every time Perez came to bat after the beaning, the Padres threw at him.

That led to fights in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings. Fourteen players were ejected and even five fans were arrested for joining in on the fun. The Atlanta manager accused the Padres’ manager of using “Hitler-like tactics.”

The most ironic fight took place on May 22, 1995 in the minor leagues. The Durham Bulls were playing the Salem Warthogs. The home team had a promotion for the game that night. The promotion was “Strike Out Domestic Violence Night.” The players must not have gotten the memo. Beanballs led to fights. One player had his jaw broken and lost five teeth. Ten players were ejected. I hope they didn’t take it out on their wives when they got home.

During this year’s All-Star Game, former Cincinnati Red, Pete Rose, made an appearance since the game was in Cincinnati. Pete is the all-time hits leader and was a hard-nosed player.

During a playoff game with the Mets in 1973, he slid hard into Bud Harrelson trying to break up a double play. The two had a wrestling match, but neither was ejected.

The Mets fans took offense to Pete’s hard slide and showered him with garbage thrown from the stands. Finally, the Reds were forced to leave the field. The umpires threatened to forfeit the game to the Reds until pleas from Willie Mays and Tom Seaver, two famous Met players, got the crowd settled down.

As a kid, I spent hours throwing a rubber baseball against our garage doors. I begged neighborhood kids to grab their gloves and play no matter how hot the summer afternoons became. Despite all that, I didn’t get close to even being a good high school player. Did fastballs headed toward my head have an effect? That’s my excuse anyway.