War for territory!

So when's the last time you saw a good baseball fight? I remember a minor league player who did a side snap kick and hit a catcher square in the chest, but that was like six or seven years ago, at least. Most of the time, one punch is thrown, maybe it lands, maybe it doesn't, and then both benches clear, and a lot of pushing and posturing occurs. Saturday on the south side of Chicago was no different. A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox collided with Michael Barrett of the Cubs on a play at the plate. It was a clean play, and those things happen in baseball. But then, Pierzynski made a show of slapping home plate, then stood up, looked Barrett in the eye, and walked right into him, bumping him. Now, regardless of the sport, you should never show another player up, especially after you just knocked him off his feet. However, that's just what Pierzynski did. So Barrett grabbed him, and:


Should he have hit him? No, of course not. But if you're gonna punch another grown man, make sure you connect squarely. Barrett's was more of a glancing blow, and was just enough to get Pierzynski's attention. Why half-ass it like that? You're gonna get suspended and fined by the MLB front office, so why not take a full wind-up, and cold-cock a motherfucker?

Kermit Washington.

Mr. Washington leads me to my point. What is it about human nature? We like to see fights, but we don't want to see anyone get hurt. NASCAR is more popular than ever, and car crashes are a big part of the initial draw, but Dale Earndhart Sr. dies in a wreck, and some people still talk about how sad it is that he's gone. He died doing what he loved. What's sad about that? Our media shows people shooting guns at other people on an hourly basis, but they almost never show the ones who actually get hit with those bullets. And don't get me started on the censorship of the flag-draped coffin photographs.

If anything good can come out of that fight last Saturday, it'll be that maybe some kid somewhere will realize that there are consequences for your actions. If you show up another person, especially in public, there's a chance that that person will take offense, and react with violence. It may not be the right thing for them to do, but it still happens. So if you're gonna be a dick to someone, be prepared to deal with the consequences.