Baseball has been America’s past-time for quite some time now and it has provided fans all over the country with exciting moments.
Those have included no-hitters, perfect games, walk-off homeruns, record breaking homeruns, underdog stories, surprising stories and many other exciting moments throughout the illustrious history of the sport.
But, with every great moment on the diamond comes an embarrassing one.
Aside from the steroid controversy surrounding the sport of baseball there have also been some incredibly entertaining, yet embarrassing, blowups by managers and players alike in the Minors and in the Majors throughout the years.
We are writing this article on the heels of Carlos Zambrano’s explosion at Wrigley Field on May 27th when his Cubs defeated the Pirates 5-2.
Some of the most famous explosions over the years have included Milton Bradley, Lloyd McClendon, Earl Weaver, George Brett, Phil Wellman and Joe Mikulik just to name a few. Wellman and Mikulik were Minor League managers at the time of their blowups with umpires while the rest of the list experienced their blowups in the Majors.
So, please enjoy the following videos of managers and players flipping out on umpires during Minor League and Major League games.
George Brett, following an important homerun, had his bat examined by the umpires and it was found to have too much pine tar on the barrel. The umpires canceled his homerun and Brett went balistic. Here is the video:
Reporters asked Royals coach Hal McRae a stupid question following a game and McRae proceeded to lose his mind during his post-game press conference.
A Chicago Cub was thrown out at third on a questionable call and manager Lou Piniella loses his mind on the umpire. Check out the classic kick of the hat…a signature Sweet Lou move.
This next video has some explicit language in it but no one should be surprised since it involves former Orioles manager Earl Weaver. Weaver was never kind to the umpires and vice versa.
Jose Offerman was the culprit of a bat attack in an Independent Atlantic League game. We have a slideshow of still photos from that game, between the Long Island Ducks and the Bridgeport Bluefish. Offerman was hit by a pitch in the calf, the calf, and he didn’t agree.
So, he charged the mound with his bat in hand waving it around trying to hit the pitcher and then the catcher of the Bluefish. Offerman was arrested by Bridgeport, Connecticut police officers following the game for assault.
John McLaren, when manager of the Seattle Mariners in 2008, drops one bomb after another during his press conference following yet another Mariner loss.
One of the most recognizable fights in baseball history happened during the 2003 ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Pedro Martinez grabbed Don Zimmer’s head and threw him to the ground. Take a look for yourself:
The name Phil Wellman will never be forgotten in baseball lure, especially within the Minor Leagues. Wellman, a Braves Minor League manager, argued a call and then went nuts after he didn’t get his way.
Joe Mikulik is another Minor League manager, for the Asheville Tourists, who lost his mind after arguing with an umpire.
The reason we wrote this article, the Carlos Zambrano ejection from earlier in the 2009 season, is the final video of our collection this time around. Hope you enjoy it. One wonderful fan turned it into a Gatorade commercial. Gotta love it:
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Jim is the creator and editor of At the Dish, Cinn City Sports, Life with Tony and Enzo and owner of JAVFreelancing. He coached baseball for five years, three at his former high school (Holy Cross in Delran, NJ) and two at prominent Division III program Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He has worked for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, NJ; Metro Networks in Bala Cynwyd, PA; and was the play-by-play announcer for the Camden Riversharks of the Independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for two seasons (2007-2008) on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM, the student-run radio station at Rowan University. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, sons Tony and Enzo and dog Phoebe. He can be reached at jimvassallo@mlbdrafts.com.
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