Baseball Brawl of the Week: Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer - 10/11/2003
Probably the most outrageous baseball fight in recent decades, this brawl had all kinds of absurdity. The Yankees and Red Sox were at the height of their early 2000s rivalry, it was game 3 of the ALCS, and a starting pitcher fought a 72 year old coach. It all started when Red Sox starter, and ace, Pedro Martinez drilled Yankee outfielder Karim Garcia in the back with a pitch in the top of the 4th inning. The Yankees dugout took exception to the play and claimed it was intentional. Pedro mouthed some words and made a gesture back to the New York bench. In the bottom half of the 4th, Yankee ace, and former Red Sock, Rodger Clemens threw a high pitch to Manny Ramirez. Manny then lost his cool and began yelling at Clemens as he approached the mound. From there both dugouts and bullpens cleared, but the highlight of the brawl was when 72 year old Yankee assistant manager Don Zimmer charged at Pedro. Pedro obliged his elderly challenger and grabbed him by the head and ripped Zimmer to the ground in front of the raucous Fenway crowd for an image that will go down in the annals of baseball history. Truly a one of a kind situation that, unfortunately, we just don't get to see anymore. The Yankee-Red Sox rivalry has cooled off in recent years and the idea of a postseason bench-clearing brawl, let alone a coach fighting a player, is simply unimaginable these days. Pedro may have won the fight, but I'll take a Don Zimmer to manage my team any day of the week. R.I.P. Don.
Here is a video of the fight:
