Customer Reviews

Benchclearing: Baseball's Greatest Fights and Riots

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Baseball brawls (or, as some refer to them, basebrawls) are seldom very violent, often look foolish, but also engender lots of debate and discussion.

This volume focuses on, as the subtitle refers to it, "Baseball's Greatest Fights and Riots." The author notes that (Page 3): "Baseball fights, though often considered predictable dramas--especially once the Greek chorus arrives from the distant bullpen to assist in the standing around and milling about--at least provide a new perspective on the use of the field."

The heart of the book is the description of some famous brawls (and brawlers) over time. Think things get spicy now? Pages 6-8 outline Ty Cobb's greatest hits--or brawls. Cobb was a nasty customer, and these vignettes give a sense of his persona.

And then there was the conflict between pitcher Juan Marichal and catcher John Roseboro in 1965. The Giants and Dodgers hat a heated rivalry--going back to their days in New York. Here, things got out of control and Marichal, at bat, began using his bat on Roseboro, the catcher. Ugly incident. . . .

After page 186, there are several photos of some of the battles that have taken place in baseball. They give a flavor of what the action can look like.

Chapter 19--a whole chapter on Billy Martin! Amazing reading of the spirit of a person out of control at times.

So, what of this volume? Hardly a deep, philosophical piece. But if you want a sense of the hard edged side of baseball leading up to brawls, this is a useful introduction.

I tell you, any time I pick up this book, I am laughing in a minute enjoying Vrusho's comprehensive account of every professional baseball fight known to man. Remember when baseball was dirty AND honest?

Vrusho resists the urge to fluff this puppy out with recollections of seeing said fights with a cookie and a blankey on an old black and white TV set as some would. Spike sticks to the facts and the perfect amount of Breslin-esque wit and charm to keep the fires crackling hot. Eminently readable as a through read, a beach read, and most importantly, a can read!

I have to say that I enjoyed reading this book and found the commentary attached to it very humorous in many cases. The book did a great job at picking those incidents that resulted in near riots at baseball games, or off the field, during the past several decades. It is light and fluffy reading and doesn't offer any serious insights into baseball but at the same time it is fun and enjoyable.

I don't like the fact that the author chose to focus for the most part on the events since instant replay came into the foreground. He ignored or payed scant attention to many great and well known fights from the 20's, 30's and 40's and beyond. Still this is fun and I recommend it to any budding baseball historian.

This seemed like a good idea - a tongue in cheek overview of various brawls in baseball history. SEEMED like a good idea. It got old fast. What might have been slightly amusing early on quickly became boring, if not annoying. Gave up about half way through and I RARELY quit on a book.

It's all here--every memorable, and not so memorable, baseball tiff, thumper, ruckus, and rumble you loved to hate (or hate to love) from recent & not-so-recent memory.

Turn to any chapter. The descriptions come like a series of Big Unit fastballs, not letting up from one to the next, and the Index makes it easy to look up your favorite fights. Like an .850 on-base percentage, chances are you'll find them. From the Sublime (Sox vs. Yankees, in which A-Ro[y]d received a mushful o' mitt from Jason Varitek; the Clemens/Piazza wars) to the Ridiculous (10cent Beer Night; Disco Demolition), all are decsribed in a down-and-in humorous manner that finds-the-hole-to-where-they-ain't in the field after each swing of the bat (or fist).

Billy Martin has his own chapter, as does the infamous San Diego @ Atlanta game of the mid 80s. Reggie Jax occupies half of another chapter with several of his front-pagers, and not just with the Yankee seasons. Also, the repercussions (ejections, fines, reprimands, fan interference, etc.) of most cool and fool battles, especially the more serious ones, are laid out in detail.

During the off-season, this book is an unassisted triple play whenever Hockey, Football, or Basketball fights (or games) don't quite measure in intensity. It's a team effort from one got-game author, and far from a no-HIT-ter. The count is 3 and 2...

if you like the history of baseball brawls this is the book for you, minus the pictures.