The Pitches That Kept Clearing the Benches

The first pitch hit Alan Wiggins. By the eighth inning, Pascual Perez, the Atlanta Braves pitcher who had thrown it, was hit himself, and both benches emptied into a fight that lasted 10 minutes. The August 12, 1984, game against the San Diego Padres at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium still had another inning to go—and another hit batter, another bench-clearing brawl and violence involving spectators.

San Diego arrived leading the National League West by nine and a half games. But the confrontation soon centered on Perez’s trips to the plate. In the second inning, a pitch from Padres starter Ed Whitson came toward Perez as he squared to bunt. Perez wielded his bat and started toward Whitson; home-plate umpire Steve Rippley restrained him. The benches began to clear, but no fighting followed. Rippley warned both teams.

The warning did not settle matters. In the fourth, Whitson threw three consecutive inside fastballs to Perez, and Rippley ejected both the pitcher and Padres manager Dick Williams. Greg Booker replaced Whitson. When Booker later faced Perez, another pitch toward the Atlanta pitcher brought the ejections of Booker and acting manager Ozzie Virgil.

Atlanta led 5–1 when Perez came up again in the eighth. This time, Craig Lefferts hit him. Both benches cleared, and Lefferts and San Diego’s next acting manager, Jack Krol, were ejected. Perez returned to the Braves bench, where Champ Summers, who had not been playing, tried to reach him. Bob Horner blocked Summers. Horner was out with a broken hand and had begun the game in the press box, but had gone to the locker room and put on his uniform as the confrontations continued. “You didn’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out what was going on,” he said afterward.

In the ninth, Atlanta reliever Donnie Moore hit Graig Nettles. Nettles charged the mound, and the benches cleared again. Moore, Nettles and Braves manager Joe Torre were ejected, along with other players. As the Padres returned to their dugout after the final brawl, a spectator hit Kurt Bevacqua in the head with a mug of beer, according to an Associated Press account. Bevacqua climbed onto the dugout and charged toward the spectator before security guards restrained him. Atlanta police later reported that five spectators were charged with disorderly conduct while intoxicated; one also faced charges of simple battery and resisting arrest.

The Braves eventually won 5–3. Afterward, the managers assigned responsibility to each other. “We know who started what, and we were going to finish it,” Williams said. “We will not be intimidated.” Torre blamed Williams: “It was gutless. It stinks. I think he should be suspended for the rest of the year.”

League discipline followed: Williams received a 10-day suspension and a $10,000 fine; Torre received three days and a $1,000 fine. Five players were also suspended and fined. Padres catcher Terry Kennedy later said, “It would've been a lot simpler if we'd hit Perez his first time up. We missed him three times at bat. The whole thing got pretty ridiculous. It's bad to have kids watch something like this.”