Massive Brawl Breaks Out During Minor League Game, Coaches Trade Punches

PublishedApril 25, 2023 9:24 AM EDT|UpdatedApril 25, 2023 9:24 AM EDT

All hell broke loose at the ballpark during a recent game between the Clearwater Threshers and the Tampa Tarpons.

Threshers player Erick Brito was hit by a pitch Sunday, and that started a sequence of events between the Single-A teams that needs to be seen to be believed. His manager Marty Malloy came down to argue about the situation, and eventually threw a punch at the Tarpons pitching coach, according to WFAN.

From there, the dance was one, the dugouts cleared and it was an all-out melee. You can check out the absurd carnage below.

The Threshers and Tarpons actually got after it for a real baseball brawl.

Baseball is a great example of a sport where there's a lot of fake tough guys. The only sport with more is probably the NBA.

How many times do we see baseball players run at each other, yell for a little bit, puff out their chests and then nothing happens?

Yes, there are occasionally brawls, but they're few and far between. It's not the NHL. You do something stupid on the ice and you're going to have to pay for it rather quickly. In baseball, you can just pretend to be tough, and will rarely get called out for it.

That's not what happened here. These dudes got after it, and the best part is it wasn't even the players who instigated the situation.

A manager threw a punch that sparked an immediate response.

Massive brawl breaks out during minor league baseball game. (Credit: Screenshot/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h8QSg80EEs)

What's that old saying about leading by example? I'm not an expert on throwing punches while on the job (or off it for the record), but I'm very confident manager Marty Malloy was NOT supposed to punch a rival coach on the field.

Of course, it's minor league baseball and people need a reason to get interested. This is the most attention I've seen given to minor league baseball in a long time.

Huge brawl breaks out during minor league baseball game between the Clearwater Threshers and the Tampa Tarpons. (Credit: Screenshot/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h8QSg80EEs)

While we're on the subject of minor league antics, let's never forget when Phil Wellman gave fans the greatest minor league meltdown ever. The fake grenade lob will forever be an epic moment in sports history.