Watch the 5 Best Bench Clearing Brawls in MLB History

We all know the emotion involved with our beloved sports, especially in MLB. Oftentimes, when players reach the height of their competitiveness, emotions can spill out in many different forms. From time to time in MLB we’ve seen bats thrown, pitches hit batters and catchers charge the pitching mound, making for some of the biggest brawls in MLB history. In this article, we’re sharing our top-five moments in Major League Baseball where both teams’ benches were cleared, causing players to rush the field and start the scrappiest brawls we’ve ever seen.

5. Philadelphia Phillies vs. Montreal Expos – September 24, 1996

Kicking it off is one of the most legendary brawls in baseball ignited by Pedro Martinez (guilty of starting multiple brawls throughout his career) on the pitchers’ mound. Martinez starts the feud by whipping a pitch at Gregg Jeffries. When it came to Martinez’s turn at bat on the flipside, Phillies pitcher Mike Williams would not only try to hit Martinez in retaliation for the act not once but twice, causing Martinez and fellow Expos members to charge out and clash against the Phillies bench, who spilled onto the field in response. Martinez (who tried to bunt the heater) sprinted up to Williams and whipped his helmet at him, missing. As a result, a massive 40+ man brawl ensued, with Martinez, Williams and other nearby players scrapping on the ground. The game ended 6-2 to the Expos.

4. New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles – May 19, 1998

In this memorable matchup between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, Armando Benitez would strike Tino Martinez with a whipped ball, causing New York players to start to creep onto the field as trash talk gets thrown to the Baltimore pitcher. After Yankees players closed the swarm in on Benitez, Orioles players had arrived as reinforcement, things still seemingly lower-tension, before a lasting brawl ensued back to the Orioles bench. Martinez and Darryl Strawberry had to be physically restrained to stop the ordeal, all while Benitez had to fend for himself. As a result, Strawberry, Graeme Lloyd, Jeff Nelson, Alan Mills, Benitez and Martinez all served suspensions, with the game concluding 9-5 in favor of the Yankees.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Anaheim Angels – June 5, 1999

For this memorable bench-clearing scrap, the LA Dodgers would battle it out against rivals Anaheim Angels on June 5, 1999, before one of the largest MLB brawls in history would ensue. Sparked relatively quickly, the Dodgers’ Ho Park would bunt a pitch from Tim Belcher before being tagged up just before first. All of a sudden, a fight took off between Belcher and Park, where Park sent a flying kick at Belcher’s upper torso before falling to the ground. Belcher would try to hammer the top of Park’s head just before being tackled by opposing Dodgers players. Within seconds, a blob of Dodgers and Angels players surrounded the first base area, causing one of the biggest brawls in MLB history and an 8+ game ban for Park. The Dodgers would win the game 7-4.

2. New York Yankees vs. Red Sox – July 24, 2004

An extremely memorable game between rivals the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees would spark one of the rowdiest brawls of the 21st century. After already having a bench-clearing brawl between the two teams the previous year, Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo would send a stinger right at the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez at bat. Cussing started between the two before Boston’s catcher Jason Varitek stepped in to heighten things. Veritek and A-Rod started grabbing each other in an attempt to throw one another to the ground, but not before both teams cleared their benches and sprinted onto the field for a classic MLB throwdown. The game would be one of the most exciting to witness, ending 11-10 in favor of the Red Sox.

1. Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers – May 15, 2016

The most recent big brawl in MLB was between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers on May 15, 2016. Rangers pitcher Matt Bush hit Jose Bautista with a dart that sends Bautista walking to first extremely angry, especially since Texas fans were applauding the act. After switching pitchers the next throw, the Blue Jays would hit a line drive to third base, which would be swooped, tossed to Rougned Odor at second, right as Bautista comes sliding in hot for revenge. Odor would seemingly pull off the double-play throwing to first, but would immediately shove Bautista for the reckless slide. Odor would straight-up throw a right-hand punch to Bautista’s head, knocking off his helmet. Before further chaos could ensue, Rangers players grabbed Bautista before he could retaliate but all hell broke loose. In the end, the Rangers won 7-6.