The All Time Best Baseball Players In a BRAWL team

[JimStinson]

Kinda fun stuff , wrote a piece about this awhile back , I wonder if the names have changed ....I got alot of feedback from ex ball players who got a kick out of picking the team. Might be fun to build a collection around it. These are the guys you'd want on your team if a bench clearing Brawl broke out. (smile). here are the names I got
1st base) GIL HODGES (I said Hodges was good natured and never got in a fight, was told the other players were "scared" of him knew he was unusually strong had hands like a catchers mit , and was told picking a fight with Hodges would be like picking a fight with a WALL)
2nd Base) BILLY MARTIN (nuff said)
Shortstop) JOHNNY LOGAN (I spoke to Logan on the phone once and he scared the heck out of me and he was over 60 years old)
3rd Base) EDDIE MATHEWS not only did he kick the crap out of Frank Robinson and Don Drysdale he had martial arts training and was afraid of nothing.
Catcher) STAN LOPATA met him once and shook his hand and wondered why he needed a catchers mitt.
Pitchers) EARLY WYNN & DON DRYSDALE & JUAN MARICHAL Big and mean masters of the brush back pitch and pitchers always START the fights they are never in them. and these two started plenty
Outfield) DEL ENNIS, MOOSE MORYN & PETE WHISENANT (Pete was a personal friend and in Port Charlotte Florida they still talk about the day in the 1950's that 6 roughnecks picked a fight with him and Pete knocked out all six and left without a scratch)
Manager) Ty Cobb

[RichardSimon]

Maybe Furillo in the outfield.

[JimStinson]

Good point, Bill Zekus who used to hang out at Ebbets said all of the Dodgers were great signers in the 1950's except for Billy Loes who Zekus called a "flake" and Carl Furillo who Zekus said was a nasty non-signer (at least back then)

[Tedw9]

Reading this post reminded me of a story I was told some years back.

I was very close friends with one of Eddie Mathews teammates, pitcher Carlton Willey. I spent countless hours at his house just listening to stories about all the greats he played with and against. Those hours were some of the best of my life.

He told me the story of his first start, against the Giants. Eddie comes up to him before the game and tells him if he has to throw inside, go ahead and do it because "before anyone gets to you, they'll have to go through me."

Carlton said he never had a worry about brushing someone back.

[old13man]

What about Nolan Ryan at pitcher....he tore up Robin Ventura in that infamous fight. He was also up there in age at the time.

[JimStinson]

The Nolan Ryan thing ...was called nuggies on the head. Which you do with your knuckle in jest for the sake of irritating someone is not the same as a brawl.

[milkit1]

this one is simple - the 1895 Baltimore Orioles

[JimStinson]

Great Eddie Mathews story !, Pete told me one that was amazing. They both played together in the minors and one night they were both drunk and went to a brothel in the middle of the night (probably just wanted a glass of water) and the owner swung open the door with a loaded shotgun aimed at their heads and Pete said Mathews walked right up to the guy , grabbed the screen door and slammed it in his face and told him something I can;t repeat and stalked off. That was pre-major leagues imagine how cocky he got after coming up to "The Show"

[Deertick]

Dave Hollins backing up Matthews. You can't defend against crazy.
Jonny Gomes as 4th outfielder.

[deebro041]

George Bell(Blue Jays) was fun to watch at times charging the mound kung fu style.

[Wymers Auction]

Pedro Borbon Pitcher of the Big Red Machine. That guy was nuts and loved to fight.

[mr2686]

I'd like to add an honorary mention of Hank Bauer in the outfield.

[JimStinson]

Bauer WAS a tough guy, WW II , recieved 2 Bronze stars and 2 purple hearts. because of his facial features team mate Whitey Ford used to chide him that he fought the Japanese with shovels

With regards to Juan Marichal who started one of baseball's most famous brawls when he beat catcher Johnny Roseboro over the head with a baseball bat. One of the combatants told me what REALLY happened and in Juan's defense Roseboro was not exactly an innocent by stander. During one of Marichal's prior starts against the Dodgers he had thrown alot of pitches in close and beat them bad. So when he stepped up to the plate to hit , Roseboro "On purpose" threw the ball back to the pitcher so close to Marichal's head it almost nicked his ear. Marichal turned to complain to the ump and Roseboro said "Shut up and hit" to which Marichal complied and started hitting the closest round thing he could find which happened to be Roseboro's head

[Exhibitman]

Al Rosen. Rosen was the 1940 Florida state high school middleweight champion. When one of the Chicago White Sox called Rosen a Jew bastard he walked over to the dugout and asked whoever called him that name to come out. No one did.

[prewarsports]

Going back a ways, I would vote for Charlie Schmidt Detroit Catcher around the turn of the century. He used to entertain people by pounding nails into boards with his mangled and scarred fists and he also used to spar with Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson. If you had asked this question 100 years ago EVERY response would have been Schmidt hands down. He also beat the crap out of Ty Cobb once too! He was by far the toughest man to play before WW1.

Rhys Yeakley

[mschwade]

I won't go back very far... I'll take Kyle Farnsworth's crazy a$$ on the mound for me any day of the week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mt0_0k40t4

[Exhibitman]

I'd also take any of the WWII vets who were decorated in battle. Can't beat a war hero for potentially standing ground and throwing down in a brawl.

[Lordstan]

How about Ernie Lombardi for catcher?

While I never heard of him in a fight, I can only imagine that a guy with hands this size would be an asset in a fight!

Plus he was so strong that he once broke 3 fingers of Larry French's glove hand with a line drive.

He may not have been able to catch you, but I think once he got a hand on you it was probably over.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

How about Ernie Lombardi for catcher?

While I never heard of him in a fight, I can only imagine that a guy with hands this size would be an asset in a fight!

Plus he was so strong that he once broke 3 fingers of Larry French's glove hand with a line drive.

He may not have been able to catch you, but I think once he got a hand on you it was probably over.

like

Also, ask Reggie about Graig Nettles...

[earlywynnfan]

Sig Jakucki!

Ken

[travrosty]

i would probably say jim thorpe, because who is gonna want to take him on?

[thenavarro]

I'd also take Ugueth Urbina as well. Dude alledgedly took a machete to five farmhands. Anyone that's got that kind of temperament i wouldn't mind being part of my brawl team. Although he was skinny, I bet Pascual Perez could get after it too with his demeanor and mindset. I think Bo Jackson could probably hold his own as well.

Mike

[JimStinson]

I watched Bo Jackson take batting practice one day and was not paying attention , I saw some of the Royals players hit balls clear the fence. then I saw some kid hitting them out of the park ! I said who the heck is that ????? there was no tape measure but I'll bet he hit some balls 600 feet. Even the other players saluted him when he returned to the dugout. Don;t know if he could fight but he was strong as an OX

[JimStinson]

Also honorable mention DOLF LUQUE who as manager in Cuba actually packed a pistol in the dugout and rumor has it on several occasions offered to shoot his players if they did not perform correctly

[travrosty]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

I watched Bo Jackson take batting practice one day and was not paying attention , I saw some of the Royals players hit balls clear the fence. then I saw some kid hitting them out of the park ! I said who the heck is that ????? there was no tape measure but I'll bet he hit some balls 600 feet. Even the other players saluted him when he returned to the dugout. Don;t know if he could fight but he was strong as an OX

Jackson breaks bats over his knee, over his helmet, but one time I swear he broke the bat before it hit his knee, with just his bare hands. He must be pretty strong. other people remember this video too. i cant find it right now, but if its a myth its not far off.

[39special]

How about Greg Luzinski

[btcarfagno]

Jimmie Foxx and Frank Howard. There is something to be said for having the ability to rip a mans head clean off his shoulders...whether or not that option ever gets exercised.

Tom C

[scmavl]

Second place for team Manager? This is our local ML skipper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4DPRuEJUVM

[shelly]

Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson. Need I say anything more.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by mschwade

I won't go back very far... I'll take Kyle Farnsworth's crazy a$$ on the mound for me any day of the week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mt0_0k40t4

Good one! Love the youtube of Farnsworth's fight. Yikes!

[steve B]

For actual brawling I see a bunch of good choices here.

I'd pick Jim Rice. One brawl I saw he wasn't fighting, but was just tapping shoulders and pointing to the dugout. Nobody swung, they just left.

I also heard a story about Boog Powell ending a likely bar brawl by stuffing a local connected hood into an ice cooler headfirst. Yeah, I might want him too

That Schmidt fellow sounds both damn tough and a bit crazy, a fine combination.

Steve B

[MilBraves]

Love the Logan pick. Here is just one of many Logan fight stories.

"We were at this restaurant in New York called Scopas," Logan recalled. "I'm sitting at the bar and here comes Bickford(Bickford was Logan's team mate). We had lost the game because Roy Campenella hit a line drive at me that knuckled and I couldn't handle it. The Dodgers scored after that.
"Bickford said to me, `If I was pitching and you lost that line drive, I'd kick you in the butt.' I ignored it and he said, `Hey, didn't you hear what I said to you?' I said, `Who was pitching?', trying to antagonize him a little bit. He said, `It was Jim Wilson.' It wasn't Wilson when the ball was hit. It was Ernie Johnson. Anyway, I pulled a $100 bill from a secret compartment in my wallet and laid it on the bar.
"We made a bet and asked the bartender to call a wire service and find out who was pitching at the time (it was the fifth inning). They called back and said it was Johnson. I gave back his $100, but now he's calling me names like gutless, yellow belly and words that I won't repeat here. He said I didn't have the guts to take him outside. He swung at me and then I let him have it. I broke one of his teeth, cut his lip, and bent his nose a little bit. The next day I took the team bus, but Bickford was so bruised he didn't make it."

[MilBraves]

Here is a good Logan/Mathews story

The reputations of Logan and Mathews had spread to the point where the late Joe Louis had heard of their fistic exploits.
"After winning the World Series in 1957, I met Joe in Las Vegas, where he was a host at Caesar's Palace. He told me, `I've done a lot of reading about you. I hear you and Mathews like to fight. I could beat you two guys one on one, but if you two ganged up on me, I wouldn't stand a chance.

[Frozen in Time]

Yankee ex-marine Hank Bauer apparently never backed away from a fight - and had the nose to prove it.

[JimStinson]

No offense to Joe Louis but I think that in 1957 Mathews might have been able to take him one on one.
Mathews and Pete Whisenant were lifetime friends, all the way back to their days in the minors. Pete and I were friends for about the last 10 years of his life when he was living in Costa Rica. Both were drinking men. Pete asked me to call Mathews and try and convince him to accompany me on one of my visits. Mrs Mathews hated Pete. So I spoke with Eddie on the phone and he agreed. A couple days later he called back and said he couldn;t go and was instead going on a "cruise" , am sure his wife put the brakes on the trip as according to Pete "she ran the show" , Ironically it was during that cruise that Mathews had a freak accident when he slipped and fell in the water and was pinned between the ship and the pier , breaking his pelvis. he never fully recovered and by most accounts it was the accident that contributed to his death.
I knew Pete when he was in his 60's and he was intimidating and still loved to fight. We were sitting in a dive bar one day in Costa Rica and two big guys were in the booth behind us. Words were exchanged and Pete smiled at me casually and told me "I hope you can take at least one of them because a fight is about to break out" , Pete then stood up and walked over to the bar and shook hands with a guy that was well over 6 feet tall and maybe 250 pounds. He was slapping him on the back and buying him a beers, both of them were laughing like crazy leaving me sitting with the two hoods that were giving me the stare down. Pete came back and sat down and I told him it was a good time for him to run into an old friend like the big guy at the bar. Pete smiled and said "never saw him in my life, but I always make friends with the biggest guy in the bar just in case a fight breaks out"

[Bob Lemke]

For my money, I'd go with Clint Courtney at catcher. The "Toy Bulldog" fought one and all at the drop of the hat . . . and would knock your hat off if that's what it took to get the ball rolling.