A skirmish, fracas, dust-up, brouhaha, kerfuffle, donnybrook, hootenanny, whatever you want to call it, everyone loves a good sports fight. As long as no one is seriously injured, it’s one of the most exciting things that can happen during a game.
There actually haven’t been all that many crazy quarrels in Bay Area sports history, but there have been enough to warrant a random-ass list during this shelter-in-place.
So here they are, the five (well, seven) greatest slobberknockers that we could find video for. We did not include hockey fights, since, well, fights are much more exciting when they’re not allowed to take place.
Honorable mentions:
Nov. 13, 2018 – Kevin Durant-Draymond Green blowup on bench vs. Clippers (Rating on Fight Scale: Exchange of Barbs)
Considering the ramifications, you could actually argue that this should be number one. Durant later admitted that Green’s tongue-lashing — which reportedly included him calling Durant a “bitch” multiple times and telling Durant that he should leave the Warriors — contributed to his decision to leave Golden State last offseason.
We would later learn that things were already on shaky ground, but it’s possible that Green’s outburst proved to be the tipping point. It concerned the Warriors enough to suspend Green for a game, and seemed to linger as an issue between the two players in the days that followed.
What pushes this out of the top five is the fact that no physical contact was ever made between the two. The same could not be said for our next honorable mention candidate.
Feb. 27, 2013 – Warriors-Pacers brawl spills into stands (Rating on Fight Scale: Fracas)
The only time Stephen Curry ever really mixed it up. The altercation started between David Lee and Pacers center Roy Hibbert as many NBA fights do, with the two players jostling for a rebound. But things took a turn quickly when Curry, who was trying to play peacemaker, was tossed to the ground by Hibbert.
Curry shot back up to give Hibbert a shove, which the center returned, causing Klay Thompson, with ball still in hand, to knock Hibbert into the first row, with nearly everyone following suit.
It’s not the best Pacers fight to spill into the stands, but it’s probably the best Warriors fight in recent memory.
5. June 26, 2002 – Barry Bonds vs. Jeff Kent in Giants dugout (Rating on Fight Scale: Dust-up)
Now here’s a teammate vs. teammate fight that did get physical. Though they both claimed to not dislike each other, Bond’s and Kent’s relationship was never rosy. In fact, in the aftermath of this altercation, Kent admitted that the two had gone after each other in similar fashion a “half-dozen” times.
The incident all started when Kent began confronting third baseman David Bell for what he perceived as a defensive mistake in the previous half inning. Here’s how witnesses described what ensued according to Henry Schulman:
“David Bell and Jeff Kent started throwing F-bombs back and forth. Barry stuck up for David Bell. Jeff Kent then started going ‘F– you’ to Bonds,” according to a fan who provided only his first name, Scott. He was sitting in a small section of field-level seats that are practically inside the Giants’ dugout. There is a clear view of the entire dugout from those seats.
A groundskeeper standing nearby provided a similar account to an Associated Press photographer.
Bell declined to comment, saying, “I’d rather not. It’s something that just happened on our team.”
The fan said Bonds and Kent started yelling at each other before Bonds shoved Kent. Baker pulled Kent away and head trainer Stan Conte restrained Bonds. Baker then started yelling at Kent, later saying the second baseman said something the manager did not like.
Scott, the fan, said Kent yelled that he wanted off the team and Baker responded, ‘Don’t you ever talk that way to me.’ ” Another account had Kent telling Baker that this was Bonds’ team anyway.
Baker grabbing Kent is what really takes this one to another level, as does the fact that Bonds and Kent were arguably the two best players in the National League at the time.
4. Oct. 16, 2011 – Jim Harbaugh-Jim Schwartz handshake gate (Rating on Fight Scale: Tiff)
Sure this one is only technically physical, but how often do you see coaches get into it these days?
Still amped from an improbable last minute victory over the Lions in Detriot, Harbaugh was maybe a little too overzealous for Schwartz’s liking, with his handshake-backsmack combo leading the Lions coach to chase after him.
The incident only elevated Harbaugh’s reputation as an instigator with other head coaches (cc: Pete Carrol), and only made him a more legendary figure in the eyes of 49ers fans.
3. Aug. 14, 2018 – Tensions between Puig, Giants finally boil over (Rating on Fight Scale: Brouhaha)
This one had really been brewing since Puig joined the Dodgers in 2013. Benches cleared a few times when Madison Bumgarner and Puig voiced mutual displeasure with each other, but no real punches had been thrown until Nick Hundley of all people decided he’d had enough. This fight cemented Puig as one of the greatest villains in Giants history.
Like many great baseball fights, the brouhaha spilled into the backstop. It also lead to one of the greatest screenshots in KNBR history.
2. May 29, 2017 – Bryce Harper charges mound, throws helmet after being hit by Hunter Strickland (Rating on Fight Scale: Donnybrook)
The greatest Bay Area sports fight of the modern era was three years in the making, when Hunter Strikland decided he needed to enact some questionable payback on Harper, who took him deep twice in the 2014 NLDS.
This fight has everything: Harper’s genuine anger, the unintentional humor of the helmet throw, legitimate punches connecting by both parties, a number of high-speed collisions by the respective benches.
Strickland’s decision to plunk Harper, as well as Buster Posey’s decision not to hold Harper back, soured Giants fans on a pitcher they already found frustrating. Add Strickland’s broken hand by punching a door the next season, and the fact that Michael Morse’s career ended after the concussion he sustained in the squabble, and Strickland became one of the least-liked Giants over the past decade.
1. August 22, 1965 – Juan Marichal attacks John Roseboro with bat (Rating on Fight Scale: Slobberknocker)
When you attack a guy with a bat, how do you not get the number one slot? Marichal nailed Dodgers catcher John Roseboro at least twice in the head, causing a gash that required 14 stitches. Marichal’s punishment? A one-week suspension, which probably would be closer to one year if something like this happened in 2020.
Though the incident is now seen as the height of one of the most heated rivalries in sports, Roseboro and Marichal became close friends in the 1980s, getting together occasionally at old-timers’ games, golf tournaments and charity events. All’s well that ends well right?
