Baseball

The Fights of Spring
Two bench-clearing brawls showed that bad blood and retribution can flare up even in exhibition games

Spring training games may not count in the standings, but they conform to the code of frontier justice associated with beanballs. And baseball's hanging judge, Bob Watson, was in midseason form last week, acting on two bench-clearing brawls.

"It's all about bad blood," says Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella. "Most of what's going on started a while ago, so the bad blood was there already. It doesn't matter that they are spring training games. If there's bad blood between two teams, it's going to show up."

Last year, for instance, Mets catcher Mike Piazza grabbed Dodgers pitcher Guillermo Mota by the collar of his shirt an inning after Mota had plunked him with a pitch. Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez, a friend of Mota's, said Mota was criticized by fellow Dominicans over the winter for not fighting back. "Someone tries to choke me," Martinez said, "I'm fighting."

Mota apparently retaliated last week with two inside pitches to Piazza, the second of which hit him on the back of the left shoulder. Piazza charged the mound. Mota flung his glove at Piazza, then backpedaled furiously. Piazza later stormed the Dodgers clubhouse looking for Mota, who had already left the premises.

Watson, an MLB vice president, suspended Piazza and Mota for five games each on Monday. Last week he suspended Expos outfielder Vladimir Guerrero for three games and Marlins pitcher Brad Penny for five games after a brawl on March 10. Guerrero charged Penny after being hit with the second of two straight inside fast-balls. (All suspensions apply to regular-season games.)

"There is no game awareness anymore," says Yankees manager Joe Torre. "Anytime a pitcher misses up and in, the batter likes to think the guy is throwing at him. I once had a guy—not with the Yankees—charge the mound when he was hit with the bases loaded."

The two recent incidents notwithstanding, charging the mound is not becoming a trend. Over the past decade, there have been no fewer than four and no more than eight incidents (in spring training and the regular season combined), with a decrease in each of the previous four years, from eight in 1999 to four last year.

"These things happen," Martinez said. "Don't make it out to be too big. It's as much a part of the game as hitting and pitching. Bob Watson, let it go."

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