BASEBRAWL: Padres - Rockies Edition

Before I discuss today's "fight" between the Padres and the Rockies, let us agree that among Team Sports Fights, baseball really ranks on the lower end of the scale. Football "fights", of course, are the worst because they are stupid and pathetic - guys wearing body armor and shoving each other. Yawn. (To be fair: sometimes they'll punch each other in the helmet, which is pretty funny.)

Basketball fights can occasionally be pretty exciting, especially when the coach gets involved:

Hockey fights? Well, we all know about those.

Now, I'll admit to some bias - I've been a rugby fan and player for several years now - but it's really hard to top rugby when it comes to full-team brawls. See, in baseball and hockey, there's usually someone who steps in to stop things when they get out of hand. Hockey's got some sort of code: the refs let the two players slug it out for a couple of minutes before diving in. In baseball, there are usually a few coaches and level-headed players who'll try to calm things down. But when you get 30 200 - 250 lb no-necks going at each other at once, well, would YOU try to play peacemaker?

Anyway, things got a bit chippy during today's Padres - Rockies game. LET'S GO TO THE TAPE.

Nolan Arenado charges the mound after a pitch is thrown behind him. Benches clear in Colorado. pic.twitter.com/vKfMTNU5c1

— FOX Sports San Diego (@FOXSportsSD) April 11, 2018

"IT'S ON!!!!" Well, no. Arenado got a glove thrown at him, and then everyone formed a big tight circle and there was shoving and some guys "had to be held back", which, no, sorry. If you're going to hit a guy, you're going to hit him, and your teammates will respect that and let you do you. Amirite, Polish Rugby Guys?

Baseball fights, as we know, never occur in a vacuum. Last night, Padre Manny Margot was hit by a Rockies pitch, a ding in the ribs that has put him on the Disabled List; earlier in today's game, the Hunter Renfroe was hit by another Rockies pitch. Luis Perdono demanded satisfaction, and so the never-ending cycle of violence continued. A plague o' both their houses! The Padres eventually lost, 6-4. The two teams meet again on April 23.