Baseball can attract more fans with fights

This past weekend was by far the most ridiculous and unexpected of the current semester.

I… This past weekend was by far the most ridiculous and unexpected of the current semester.

I saw two of the most disappointing losses possible in Pittsburgh football. I also witnessed a stellar performance by two lovely exotic dancers, who entertained myself and 20 friends at the center of my living room floor late Friday evening during a fashionable pretend bachelor party.

But that’s neither here nor there.

Perhaps the most astonishing thing that I viewed over the weekend was the incident in which Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez threw New York Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer around like a rag doll during a bench-clearing dispute in Saturday’s game three of the American League Championship Series.

Oh yes, and let’s not forget that Zimmer is 72 years old.

An incident was bound to take place in this highly anticipated, overheated match up. Martinez took the mound for the Red Sox and Roger Clemens for the Yankees, both future Hall of Famers known for intimidation.

The clash between the teams began when Martinez threw at Karim Garcia’s head, hitting him in the back as he ducked.

Later in the game, Clemens threw a pitch slightly inside to Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox, and Ramirez claimed retaliation was the aim. The benches of the two teams quickly charged the field and all hell broke loose.

Zimmer joined his team, but proceeded on a solo mission as he ran across the field to the first-base line where he met his match.

The coach lunged at Martinez in a notable fashion, but was quickly halted when Martinez stepped aside and nudged Zimmer to the ground.

While some blame Martinez for triggering Saturday’s chaotic events, others have questioned the sanity of a very old coach in his blatant efforts of assault.

Personally, I think what happened was great. It’s baseball.

For starters, this series is undoubtedly the biggest rivalry in baseball and probably all of sports. What Martinez did when he hit the batter in the back is something that happens in baseball on a daily basis.

While he may lack class, with his loud mouth and cocky attitude, hitting the opponent has been a part of baseball since the game began and it was bound to happen at some point in the series.

As for Zimmer, he is not the crazed lunatic many have made him out to be from this single confrontation. I found what he did to be not only humorous, but adorable as well.

Many may argue that Zimmer had no right to react the way he did, but why not?

It is common courtesy to stick up for your teammates and have their back in the heat of battle in any sport. It was clear that nobody else was going to do it from the Yankees organization. In my opinion, Zimmer was the only one on the team with extreme passion to win the game. He showed his loyalty to the Yankees and the heart of a true competitor.

What Martinez did was distasteful to the Yankees, but the team did nothing but argue. There should have been 20 guys on the back of Martinez, not a solo 72 year-old man lying on the ground on his own back.

Hats off to Zimmer for being a man and taking one for the team.

As for the series, I think the fights, the shouting matches, and the tight competition between the Yankees and the Red Sox are irresistible and represent professional sports at their finest.

Clemens summed it up best at the end of game 3 when he said “Great theatre, whatever you want to call it. I think it’s great baseball.”

Ryan Faloon is a columnist for The Pitt News who chose to come to Pitt over Morehead State because of its outstanding intramural program.