Baseball brawls, culture and ethnicity

All right, now I'm convinced. There probably is something to the dynamic. Thanks for the analysis.

 

Does it affect the percentages if the same guy is involved in most of the incidents? Maybe it's not a racial thing -- it's a certain guy's personality thing.

 

That's certainly a point worth considering. The other guy focused on in the piece is Carlos Gomez, who also finds himself in these situations a lot. But it's also notable that fellow Latin players aren't the ones fighting with them, though.

 

I also thought it was interesting Brandon Phillips said he is always the guy on his team who gets plunked. Same could be said for Lorenzo Cain and I don't think he's the Royal guys are usually made at.

That's just two examples, but I wonder if anyone put together data on how often guys of different races get hit by a pitch.

 

It's just the biggest bat in the lineup, right? Or a big bat anyway. That was the backstory of the Papelbon-Harper fight, Harper was pissed that Papelbon hit Machado because Harper thought it meant he had it coming the next day.

 

I fail to see what the problem is with basebrawls. It is the absolute, unalienable right of all pitchers to pitch inside and, if need be, put a fastball between a hitter's numbers.

Look, it's simply impossible to legislate beanballs and brawls out of baseball. Complete waste of time and breath. They have been part of the fabric of the game ever since the first pitch was thrown.

I'd argue the answer is not fewer beanballs, but more of them. Repeal the rule giving a batter first base for being hit, and instead simply make it a ball. Let the hitter wear as much body armor as he wants, and let him crowd the plate. If a batter thinks he's being thrown at intentionally, sure, he has the absolute right to stand his ground, defend himself and charge the mound without fear of ejection or suspension.

 

Was that an audition to write for the Onion?

 

Do umps with small strike zones get beheaded?

 

There is getting hit by a pitch and getting plunked. Derek Jeter and Craig Biggio got hit a ton because they leaned over the plate and barely avoiding getting hit. How many times were they getting plunked or thrown at?

 

It appears highly unlikely I'm going to get to see my dream Ichiro-Sabathia throw down.

 

Neither of the Million a Dollar Arm guys came close to the bigs, right? We need to introduce a new ethnicity to the mix to really set this thing off.

Speaking of minorities and brawls and awesome things:

 

If there are 29% Latinos in baseball the chance of a white pitcher fighting a Latino batter is 29%. It's as simple as the odds of the next hitter the pitcher faces. The chance of a white pitcher fighting a non-white batter is about 42%.

Now, if the study broke it down to plate appearances by Latino hitters against batters faced by white pitchers, the data would sharpen. Do we have more white pitchers?

Also, could the problem be white pitchers not accepting other customs?

Does Haper and Papelbon count? Why doesn't it? It was a fight.

And, there used to be saying growing up that if you fought one, you fought the family. Maybe there is some truth to this?