Last Updated: October 16th, 2026 by Matthew Brown
There has long been a stigma that baseball is a boring sport. Those are definitely coming from fans of other sports who don't want to put the time in to learn the ins and outs of what makes baseball great. That being said, those same people would probably love it when a confrontation turns into a benches-clearing situation.
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That's what we're here for, and if you're one of those fans, we hope you like this list.
20. Varitek Masks A-Rod: The Face Shove That Launched 1000 T-Shirts (2004)
There is no other rivalry in baseball that has captivated the country quite like the Yankees and Red Sox. Tempers are always short between these two historic organizations, even in today's game.
When the captain of a team stands up to an opposing superstar, the home fanbase can put their full energy into their support. That's what happened when beloved catcher Jason Varitek shoved his mitt into the hated Alex Rodriguez, to the immediate approval of the Fenway faithful.
19. Nolan Ryan’s Headlock on Robin Ventura: Old School Justice (1993)
I couldn't think of a bigger age difference for a brawl than the one between Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura. The legendary hurler was 46 years of age at the time and was still not shy about throwing inside at opposing hitters.
The White Sox took exception to that, and a 26-year-old Ventura was told to charge the mound if he got hit. I've heard that he didn't even want to do it, and it kind of showed as he ran right into the headlock of Ryan, who gave him a little beating in this iconic moment.
18. Juan Marichal Clubs Johnny Roseboro: The Day Baseball Lost Its Mind (1965)
This is one of the more brutal results, as it involves the other legendary rivalry in baseball, the Dodgers against the Giants. It was a marquee pitching matchup between Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal. John Roseboro was the catcher for the Dodgers at the time when Marichal, famous for his penchant for throwing at batters, threw right at the heads of a couple of Dodgers.
Koufax was too nice to return the favor, so when Marichal was batting, Roseboro used the opportunity to throw a ball right at his head instead of back to the mound. Since Marichal was a hitter, he had a weapon in hand that he wasn't afraid to use. That resulted in many stitches in Roseboro's head later.
17. Mets vs. Dodgers: The Great Guillermo Mota Chase (2003)
A lot of hitters will take exception to getting hit by a fastball from a hard-throwing pitcher. That makes sense, as I wouldn't want to get hit by a 100mph pitcher either. Nobody does, especially in a meaningless Spring Training game.
Yet, that's basically what happened between reliever Guillermo Mota and star catcher Mike Piazza. Mota knew his mistake and started to run away from a charging Piazza. What transpired was a game of chase that could only really happen in the Spring.
Imagine this ridiculousness happening in a game that mattered.
16. Padres vs. Braves: The Pascual Perez Bean-Ball War (1984)
Part of the risk in a benches-clearing brawl is that players can get ejected from the game for their involvement. This all-out war resulted in something close to a worst-case scenario.
The Braves and Padres aren't even bitter rivals in history, but this particular instance of five different fights breaking out ended up in a whopping 13 ejections from this game.
15. Brett vs. Nettles: The ’76 Playoff Throwdown at Third
George Brett has had memorable confrontations throughout his Hall of Fame career. The third-base legend was just in the middle of his career when he got into a disagreement with the opposing third baseman, Graig Nettles.
It's kind of crazy to look back at this, considering the fact that these two hot-corner specialists went on to have great careers after this.
14. Cubs vs. Mets: The Harnisch-Hundley Rumble (1999)
The Chicago Cubs and New York Mets have had their ups and downs in their respective histories. Both have always had hopeful teams, but a lot of tough luck in the postseason.
With each team in contention for a spot in the National League postseason, it didn't take much for pride to take over as Pete Harnisch and Scott Servais got into a physical altercation that escalated into a benches-clearing situation.
13. Pedro Martinez Tosses Don Zimmer: Baseball’s Most Uncomfortable Moment (2003)
Nobody knows why 72-year-old Don Zimmer made a beeline for Pedro Martinez during a famous brawl in the ever-exciting Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Martinez stood his ground and threw the aging Zimmer to the ground in a bit of an awkward moment that would be replayed for many years following the original altercation.
12. Mets vs. Reds: The Ray Knight Knockout of ’86
Many fans know of the 1986 New York Mets. However, they may not know of this pretty crazy scuffle that happened during the regular season. Eric Davis was an eccentric young player for the Cincinnati Reds, and he slid into third base a little too hard for the Mets' Ray Knight not to take action.
Knight, a former amateur boxer, was ready to use his fists to let Davis know exactly what he thought about that slide.
11. Jose Bautista Meets Rougned Odor’s Right Hook (2016)
Jose Bautista was coming off a season where he hit one of the most iconic home runs in recent playoff memory. His bat flip during that home run was what really made it iconic. Historically, bat flips aren't taken very well by opposing players.
Rougned Odor took that feeling and saved it for the next season, where he ended up giving Bautista a mean right hook to the face. It soured Odor's reputation among fans for the rest of his career.
10. Will Clark vs. Cardinals: The Bad Blood Boils Over (1988)
Will Clark has always been well-liked by the fans who appreciated hard-nosed, blue-collar play. That could rub opposing players the wrong way, as it did with the Cardinals one summer day. Clark had a hard slide into Jose Oquendo, who took exception to it, which started a tussle that even involved Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
I kind of wish Ozzie did a flip into the fight for more flair.
9. Brandon Phillips vs. Yadi (2010)
This one is a little rougher to look back on. Brandon Phillips and Yadier Molina are both beloved players for their standup, respectable personalities. They instantly got into an argument when Phillips came to the plate for the first time in an August game.
The yelling match turned into a big brawl and, in the middle of it, backup catcher Jason LaRue suffered a concussion that ended up causing him to retire.
It wasn't exactly just that concussion, but the many concussions he had growing up playing high school football along with baseball. This was just the tipping point.
8. Michael Barrett Punches A.J. Pierzynski: The Crosstown Classic Chaos (2006)
A.J. Pierzynski, ever the antagonist, had to be included in this list. The crosstown rivalry between the Cubs and the White Sox has always been there, even if they've been in opposite leagues. With Pierzynski knowing what it's like to be a catcher, he didn't hesitate to bowl over Michael Barrett at the plate and cause a big fiasco that the fans cheered on.
7. The Cubs vs. Cardinals Bench-Clearing Marathon (1974)
I feel like the rivalry between the Cubs and Cardinals is an underrated one in the history of the MLB. These two have been bitter rivals for a long time and have had their fair share of scuffles. This particular one involved a couple of tough-looking players.
The Mad Hungarian Al Hrabowsky squared up against Mad Dog Bill Madlock in an expectedly heated affair.
6. Yankees vs. Red Sox: The Bronx Zoo Brawl (1976)
The Yankees in the back half of the 1970s had a bunch of personalities that gave them the nickname of the Bronx Zoo. It didn't take much against the Red Sox for a brawl to be started, and the results were rough.
Boston pitcher Bill Lee separated his shoulder in the middle of the fight, which took him out for the rest of the season. It's injuries like that that can make a fan wonder why these valuable players take the risk to get into these fights in the first place.
5. Mariners vs. Orioles: The Brawl That Almost Stopped The Streak (1993)
Speaking of taking a risk, imagine what would have happened if Cal Ripken Jr. got severely injured in a brawl that involved the Yankees and Orioles. He was so close to breaking the record already that you would think he'd stay out of a fight.
Ever the team player, Ripken didn't hesitate and dove right into the middle of the altercation. Luckily, he was fine in the end, and history was made a little later.
4. Mets vs. Reds: Teufel’s Revenge (1989)
Going through this list, I've found that the New York Mets have been involved in a number of notable fights throughout history. This time, it involved the Reds' star reliever, Rob Dibble.
I should also mention that these Reds teams also had some attitude, especially with the nickname of the Nasty Boys that would define their World Series run a year after this fight. Anyway, the fiery Dibble didn't back down against Tim Teufel in this '80s tussle.
3. Orioles vs. Yankees: The Benitez-Tino Martinez Blowup (1998)
Rivalries within a division that aren't the main ones can still be pretty combative. Armando Benitez, a flame-throwing reliever, threw at the Yankees' Tino Martinez and sparked a classic benches-clearing brawl. This was a year when the Yankees would end up winning the World Series, so some valuable players were involved, and they're lucky no one got seriously hurt.
2. Phillies vs. Giants: The Ricky Bottalico Special (1996)
It's no surprise that a fight involving Barry Bonds started because of a pitch thrown right at him. He was… Even though he wasn't at the full strength we saw him in 2001, he was still as feared a hitter as any.
Not many pitchers wanted to let him swing the bat, so walking him was usually the next best option. Bottalico decided not to waste pitches and plunked Bonds, inciting the fight.
1. George Bell vs. Mo Vaughn: The White Sox-Red Sox Slugger Showdown (1993)
A heavyweight battle is always a draw. That's true in combat sports and in baseball, apparently. George Bell and Mo Vaughn, both proud sluggers, squared off as Vaughn was protecting his teammate, Aaron Sele, who threw at Bell twice.
Vaughn looked like a football linebacker, bulldozing his way into the fray and exciting the crowd no matter who they were cheering for.
