Basebrawls: Yasiel Puig vs. the Entire Pittsburgh Pirates Organization

We have our first basebrawl of the 2019 season, folks!

Well, like many baseball fights these days, it was mostly a lot of guys standing in a giant huddle, pushing and shoving, but Yasiel Puig’s beef with the Pittsburgh Pirates seemed to have a little more edge to it, making this particular pushing and shoving match just a little bit better.

On Sunday, April 7, Pirates starter Chris Archer threw behind Cincinnati Reds hitter Derek Dietrich as punishment for gloriously pimping a majestic home run he hit off Archer in the second inning.

This, of course, flared everyone’s tempers and both benches cleared, which is one of the best sights in all of sports. The action got started when Reds manager David Bell immediately ran out to scream in the home plate umpire’s face. As that escalated and got everyone’s attention, Yasiel Puig took things up a notch by becoming unhinged, consumed by a bloodlust for Archer.

Joey Votto and a few other teammates – along with Pirates outfielder Melky Cabrera – tried to hold Puig back, but he got loose and took one last run at Archer, gifting us with one of the best basebrawl photos you’ll ever see (please note Tucker Barnhart doing his best to hold Puig back by the ankle):

Yasiel Puig is no stranger to basebrawls going back to his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers, so it’s not surprising to see him get the action started this season. And while he did produce an iconic basebrawl image, this fight would have become an instant classic had he gotten a true run at Archer, who absolutely deserved it.

Despite no punches actually being thrown, Yasiel Puig’s righteous and furious anger should whet everyone’s appetite for more baseball fights to come.

Basebrawl Score: ⚾⚾