WATCH: Massive Brawl Breaks Out During Portland Sea Dogs Game
What started as a night to celebrate the old school teal color scheme and jerseys of the Portland Sea Dogs turned into an all-out brawl on the field that made national headlines. Early in the game Thursday night between the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and Portland Sea Dogs, a hit-by-pitch by a Binghamton pitcher on Sea Dogs infielder Tyreque Reed led to some words being exchanged and then some heavy blows being thrown.
Shared on Twitter by Dave Eid, you can clearly see the moment a simple and fairly common baseball moment escalates to a rarity, an actual ferocious fight on the diamond. The batter who was hit, Tyreque Reed, might be the last guy on the Sea Dogs roster you want to throw at. Reed is listed at 6'1" and 250lbs, and looked every bit of it in the brawl.
Another angle shared on Twitter by ActionNetMLB shows the escalation, punches thrown, and then eventually an injured player writhing in pain on the field. Unfortunately for the Sea Dogs and the Red Sox, one of their top prospects, infielder David Hamilton, gets tackled down to the field as the pitcher appears to mistaken him for the batter who threw the first punch.
Brawls in baseball are typically just lip service. Most confrontations involve pushing and shoving, and plenty of words exchanged. Rarely do brawls, even in the minor leagues, escalate to the point where multiple punches are thrown and landed. Suspensions are expected from the incident Thursday night.