The brawl in Anaheim wasn't the typical baseball fight

Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman recap the wild fracas in Anaheim between the Braves and Angels.

Check out the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

We got, not a brawl, a heavyweight showdown.

I believe both Reynaldo Lopez and Jorge Soler would be in said weight class.

Between those two gentlemen, in one of the more frisky physical confrontations that we have seen in a ball field in some time.

This was not your typical, macho hubris off when two players just chest up and yell.

This was There was malice.

There was m- real intent behind what happened in Anaheim on Tuesday night.

Jordan, I will be honest with you, I was at Rogers Center in Toronto, writing off that game when someone said, “Oh my God, oh my God,” showed me the clip.

I’ve spent relatively little time digging into this.

You were sitting in the chair at your desk that you’re sitting in now, probably, when you found out about this.

Can you hold my hand and just, like, give me the SparkNotes of this?

Thank you for being honest and, and, revealing that you were covering Dodgers-Blue Jays.

That’s very, very, – You’re welcome.

It’s very- I’m a bigger- very real of you I’m a big man.

Jen’s a big man.

A re- I know it took a lot.

I know it took a lot to, to, to- If it makes you feel any better- Yeah it was another bad baseball game last night.

Well, it was better than the first one.

We’ll, we’ll, we’ll get there.

But I, I, I actually wanna tell how I found out about this, because it’s- Good not exactly as you described.

I was sitting in this chair, doing some, some pod prep.

And I went downstairs.

I had the games on on my TV downstairs, and I was ready to close up and, and go to bed.

And I went down to just close everything off.

And as I, like, turn around the corner, I, I Like, I went in the kitchen to, like, start the dishwasher and, you know, n- normal end of evening chores.

So I walk past the TV, nothing’s happening.

Like, the Angels and Braves are on.

There’s nothing happening.

I go into my kitchen to start the dishwasher.

I come back.

I pick up the remote to turn off the TV, and suddenly, fists.

Brackets.

Like, like I There was no build-up.

And I think that is the key.

I mean, I will explain to you how we got here.

But in, in terms of the broadcast, I can’t remember many where Sometimes it’s a bit delayed, where if there is something that happens on the mound and someone charges the mound, it’s a little bit late.

This was the most chaotic version of that.

On both broadcasts, because of the play that had happened before, the beginning of this, this fight was not shown.

So just suddenly, Reynaldo Lopez and Jorge Soler were swinging at each other next to the mound.

And in that sense, it was very chaotic.

So I was also like, “Oh my God, what, what?

How did this happen?”

And it took a while to understand.

So what did happen?

Why did this happen?

Or at least to the best of our understanding.

Jorge Soler hit a home run, against Reynaldo Lopez- Oh earlier in this game.

Very cool.

Which is fine, but, but it’s important.

Because you might say, “Okay, well, did he, like, stand in the batter’s box for 25 minutes and show him up?”

No.

D- it didn’t really seem like it.

He seemed like a pretty standard jog around the bases.

However, there is some history here.

Because Jorge Soler, in his career, has absolutely tortured Reynaldo Lopez for whatever reason.

And after last night, is now This is adding a couple more times reaching base, because afterwards he was hit by a pitch, and then had another pitch thrown at him.

Jorge Soler against Reynaldo Lopez in his career, hitting .609 in 26 plate appearances, a 2.045 OPS, five home runs in, the, in, as I mentioned, I think like 23 at bats.

The brawl in Anaheim wasn’t the typical baseball fight

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