Chicago Cubs: Top five memorable bench-clearing incidents

Chicago Cubs: The team is not known for getting into bench-clearing brawls as often as other teams, but the ones they do get into are very memorable.

Emotions run very high on the field as the players are in competitive mode. Sometimes they reach a boiling point, and chaos ensues. Every team goes through some sort of bench-clearing incident a year, but not often to all-out brawls happen. Like every team, the Chicago Cubs have seen their share of benches-clearing events happen.

Fights start in various ways, which can be the result of one thing in the game just escalating quickly or a series of events throughout leading to a volcanic eruption. It all usually ends the same way, with players getting ejected and further exchange of words in the form of yelling while being restrained. What we do not like seeing are players or anyone on the field getting hurt. Nobody should have to see anyone getting seriously injured intentionally.

Without further ado, here are the top-five most memorable benches-clearing incidents in Cubs history.

Chicago Cubs: Before the 2015 Wild Card game, tempers flared between the Cubs and Pirates in the early 90s.

On August 2, 1993, the Cubs and Pirates faced off in an afternoon battle at Wrigley Field…literally. It was a crazy game as the Cubs went on to erase an early 8-2 deficit and win 12-10. Yet that was not the main story, what happened in the 6th inning was.

This brawl was a build-up of several events. It mainly started when Cubs reliever Bob Scanlan plunked Pirates infielder Carlos Garcia after he hit two homers in the game. In the sixth Blas Minor threw behind Mark Grace (after trying to hit him on the first pitch), which resulted in Minor being ejected. Within seconds the benches cleared and met at the mound. 

It began as some typical shoving and shouting at each other. After a few seconds, they started to slowly back off, and it looked like it was over…until Scanlan started shouting and getting into the Pirates’ faces. Then punches began being thrown, and a brawl ensued. The group of shoving moved over to the Cubs dugout as players pinned each other near the fence. Scanlan and Al Martin were going at it during the whole thing. Lonnie Smith wanted a piece of Jose Bautista.

After the fire was put out and order was restored, Bautista later hit another batter, which resulted in Pirates manager Jim Leyland come screaming out of the dugout and getting ejected. The 1993 Cubs season was terrible and forgettable, but this brawl was certainly all but forgettable.

Chicago Cubs: In Chicago, they say that Anthony Rizzo became captain of the team that day.

In the hot July sun at Great American Ballpark, the Cubs and Reds got into it back on 7/10/14. It was around the time the team started showing signs of promise for the future with their young guys, including Anthony Rizzo. This conflict would begin with Rizzo and future Cubs reliever Aroldis Chapman, who was still on the Reds at the time.

It was a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning with Nate Schierholtz facing Chapman. The first two pitches flew right up and over Schierholtz’s head at 100+ MPH. Rizzo and the Cubs dugout began to jaw a little at Chapman. The at-bat eventually ended in a strikeout with Chapman staring down the Cubs dugout, which made Rizzo mad as he leaned over the railing and began shouting again at him. As Junior Lake made the final out on a groundout, Champan waived his glove at the Cubs dugout.

In between innings, Rizzo at first and the Reds dugout exchanged words, and it all went down from there. Rizzo dropped his hat and glove and walked towards the dugout, ready to take them on. Benches cleared, and the shoving match began. It did not get too physical, but there was plenty of shouting and shoving. Looking back at the replay, Rizzo mainly wanted Champan and Reds pitcher Alfredo Simon tried holding him back.

This was not much of a brawl, but this helped give Rizzo the reputation of team leader. Ironic how Rizzo and Chapman would become teammates later and win a World Series.

Chicago Cubs: The North Siders and New York Mets have had plenty of scuffles, but this was a big one.

On May 11, 1996, the Mets and Cubs faced off in a Saturday afternoon game at old Shea Stadium. Younger fans might not remember it, but the Mets were once one of the Cubs’ most bitter rivals, and the two sides have gone at each other before. This was a brouhaha waiting to happen after Mets pitcher Pete Harnisch hit Cubs pitcher Kevin Foster in retaliation to Foster throwing a pitch up and into Todd Hundley earlier.

These chains of events got Harnisch very upset, as well as Cubs catcher Scott Servais. It all blew up in the fifth inning when Harnisch was at the plate, and Terry Adams threw behind him. As the umpire began to warn the dugouts, Harnisch and Servais started barking, and the next thing everyone knew, Harnish landed a punch on Servais, and the benches swarmed the two. The teams dog-piled on each other with Harnish and Servais pinned on the bottom as they continued to flail their arms and legs.

The pile of players migrated over towards the backstop with guys shoving each other against the wall and into the netting. Several individuals broke off into groups with at least one guy being held back by others when they wanted to keep the punches rolling.

The fight was a roller coaster as it began starting up again just when it looked like it was calming down. It took a while to get everything settled, a little over 15 minutes finally.

Harnisch and Servais have long since made up for the incident, but they have not stopped getting asked about it.

Chicago Cubs: There is no moment in Cubs-White Sox history more memorable than the infamous brawl in 2006.

2006 was heaven for White Sox fans and hell for Cubs fans. The Sox were coming off their 2005 World Series win, and the Cubs were heading for a 96-loss season as the Dusty Baker era was coming to an ugly end. Things got particularly unpleasant on May 20, 2006, when the two Chicago teams faced off on the South Side.

In the bottom of the second inning, Rich Hill walked the bases loaded for Brian Anderson. On a 1-1 count, Anderson lifted a flyball to Matt Murton in left who made the catch and fired home quickly as A.J. Pierzynski tagged from third and headed home. Pierzynski rammed into Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, knocking him down before slamming his hand on home to officially score.

Barrett went to Pierzynski, grabbed hold of him, and punched him square in the face. The benches cleared, and what followed was a mass collection of punches, shoving and dog-pilling on home plate. Scott Podsednik went after Barrett as the two teams continued to scrap. Eventually, it was broken up, and the crowd on the South Side roared as Pierzynski pumped up the crowd as we went back to the dugout. Both catchers, among others, would be ejected from the game.

This season was awful, and the only real memorable thing from it was a brawl in a game the Cubs eventually lost 7-0.

Have any other notable bench-clearing incidents in mind? Please do share them. These five are certainly not the only ones to happen in Cubs’ history.