Jul 25 2008
“Ugly Baseball Brawl”
Families and loved ones have been taking their children to baseball games for years. For generations fathers have taken their sons and daughters to their first baseball game and for the most part we remember those moments and cherish them. Well, last night in Dayton Ohio a baseball game between two minor league teams affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs was the last place your family wanted to be as a bench clearing brawl occurred.
According to early reports there was a lot of tension between these two teams and a bad game of bean ball began in the first inning. Most people have probably not even found their seat and the late comers missed one of the uglies display of unsportsmanlike conduct. A pitcher from the PeoriaChiefs a minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs was in the middle of angry discussion started by the two managers and the pitcher decided to throw a baseball in the direction of the dugout at a opposing player. He horribly missed his target with the 90+ mph baseball and hit an innocent fan in the stands. According to news reports from that area the fan was with his or her family at the game. They were taken to the hospital and released but that was not the point that could have been a kid hit. What an ugly mess that two angry baseball teams actually caused this mess however, the real blame goes on the player who never thought of his actions prior to throwing the ball. Julio Castillo, the pitcher was thankfully arrested on the spot and taken out by auhorites. He was charged with a felony charge and may not be playing baseball for a long time. Unfortanetly the coach of the Peoria Chiefs is old time great and Hall of Famer Ryan Sandberg who was away attending a celebration in Cooperstown. 17 total players and coacher were ejected and Sandberg was not one of them as he was not present as this mess occurred. He might of picked a bad night to miss as his team was involved with this brawl.
We can not put all the blame on the players and coaches as well! What were the umpires thinking? They did nothing to dissolve this as three different players were being hit during play with no warnings to either team before the brawl began. The umpires should also be called out as an instigator in this fight as they had no control over what was happening in front of their eyes. Tensions were high enough that they could have perhaps prevented this fight in the first place.
I just wanted to report this because I felt bad for the people involved and I send out a blessing to the victim and his or her family of this ugly night. I hope both of these baseball organizations and the umpire association take accountability and do everything in their power to help the victim.
