Willson Contreras gave Fenway Park another entry for the Red Sox fight reel on Tuesday, but Boston’s history of bench-clearing chaos already runs deep.
After Washington Nationals starter Cade Cavalli struck Contreras out looking in the fourth inning, Contreras took offense when Cavalli yelled, “Sit down, boy.” The two kept jawing, and Contreras eventually charged the mound, adding one more flashpoint to a long list of Red Sox brawls.
That list includes everything from the unforgettable to the downright bizarre. Here are the 10 most memorable fights in Red Sox history, ranked.
At No. 10, the Red Sox and Orioles got tangled up on July 28, 2002 after Gary Matthews Jr. wasn’t happy about being plunked on the backside by Derek Lowe. The pitch came in retaliation for Manny Ramirez getting hit by a pitch the inning before. Matthews argued with Lowe before heading to first, kept barking at him, and the situation snowballed into a lively brawl that pulled in several players, including Matthews, Doug Mirabelli, Jason Varitek and Ugeth Urbina.
No. 9 belongs to David Ortiz and Kevin Gregg on July 8, 2011. Ortiz had clearly had enough after Gregg kept working inside on him.
The two exchanged words, returned to play with a 3-0 count, and after Ortiz popped up the next pitch to center field, Gregg said something that set him off. Ortiz charged the mound.
Had Big Papi actually connected with his haymaker, this one would be even higher.
Kevin Youkilis earns the No. 8 spot for his showdown with Rick Porcello on August 11, 2009. Youkilis, the Red Sox’ all-time leader in hit-by-pitches, finally hit his breaking point after being plunked by the 20-year-old Tigers right-hander.
He went after Porcello and threw his helmet at him, but Porcello held his ground and ended up taking down the veteran first baseman. The hit was widely viewed as payback after Red Sox pitchers had hit Miguel Cabrera over the previous two days.
Coco Crisp’s clash with James Shields comes in at No. 7.
On June 5, 2008, Shields drilled Crisp after Crisp’s hard slide into second base the night before. Crisp charged the mound, and the best part of the whole mess was his remarkable dodge of Shields’ punch.
At No. 6, there’s the legendary Izzy Alcantara kick from July 3, 2001. It wasn’t even a Red Sox game - it came with Triple-A Pawtucket - but the moment was too wild to leave out.
Alcantara charged the mound after being hit, but not before kicking Scranton Wilkes/Barre Red Barons catcher Jeremy Salazar. It remains one of baseball’s most unforgettable mound charges.
Pedro Martinez shows up again at No. 5, this time against the Devil Rays on August 29, 2000. The chaos began immediately when Gerald Williams, Tampa Bay’s first hitter of the game, charged Martinez after being hit on the wrist.
Williams was one of eight Devil Rays players ejected, while Martinez settled in and dominated from there. He retired the next 24 batters in order, carried a no-hitter into the ninth, and finished with a complete-game shutout and 13 strikeouts.
No. 4 takes us back to May 20, 1976, when Carlton Fisk and Lou Piniella ignited a brawl at Yankee Stadium. Piniella ran over Fisk at the plate, Fisk reacted with punches, and the whole thing blew up. Then Bill “Spaceman” Lee got involved with Mickey Rivers and Graig Nettles, and Nettles body-slammed Lee, leaving him with a separated left shoulder.
Joe Kelly’s fight with Tyler Austin lands at No. 3.
On April 11, 2018, benches had already cleared earlier after Austin spiked Brock Holt on a questionable slide into second base. When Austin came up again, Kelly hit him with a 98 mph fastball.
Austin slammed his bat to the ground and charged, and Kelly got in some solid shots before the teams were pulled apart.
The No. 2 spot goes to Pedro Martinez vs. the Yankees on October 11, 2003. It was messy from the start.
Martinez threw at Karim Garcia’s head, and when Jorge Posada yelled at him from the dugout, Martinez pointed at his own head as if to say, “You're next.” Manny Ramirez then reacted to a Roger Clemens pitch that wasn’t really even close to his head, and the benches emptied.
The most shocking moment came when Don Zimmer charged Martinez and Martinez threw him to the ground. After that, a Red Sox groundskeeper got into a fight with Garcia and Yankees pitcher Jeff Nelson in New York’s bullpen.
It was the peak of the rivalry.
And at No. 1, the most iconic Red Sox brawl of them all: Jason Varitek vs. Alex Rodriguez on July 24, 2004.
The image of Varitek’s glove shoved in A-Rod’s face is one of the defining photos in Boston sports history. Rodriguez had words for Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo after being hit by a pitch, Varitek stepped in, the two exchanged some not-so-nice words, and then everything erupted.
The fracas even spilled into a side skirmish involving Yankees starter Tanyon Sturtze and Gabe Kapler, with David Ortiz helping out.
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Willson Contreras was back in the middle of another mess Tuesday night, this time against the Nationals after a confrontation with pitcher Cade Cavalli escalated fast enough to clear both benches. The exchange ended with Contreras ejected, along with Nate Eaton and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas, adding another layer to a tense stretch for a player who has already been impossible to ignore around the league.
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