The Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees were involved in a brawl and two subsequent benches-clearing incidents on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez was drilled on the hip in the fifth inning, which set the stage for tempers to boil over.
Miguel Cabrera appeared to take exception to a pitch that buzzed his back, he exchanged words with Yankees backup catcher Austin Romine, threw a punch and the two wrestled to the ground. Both benches and bullpens spilled onto the field in a hurry.
The melee was eventually broken up and as the dust was settling, Romine was seen speaking with his brother Andrew, a member of the Tigers. The on-field incidents led to eight ejections, and suspensions and fines handed down the following afternoon.
The scuffle dominated conversations on nightly sports shows, including MLB Tonight. Cabrera’s shoving of Romine, Sanchez’s punches, as well as potential fallout were the understandably focal point.
But Hall of Famer and analyst Pedro Martinez was able to provide some insight on the oddity of Romine brothers being on separate ends of a brawl.
If put in the same situation as the Romines, Martinez explained he would be aware of his brother’s safety but ultimately would take action that sided with his teammates:
“I would have to push him away. You have to. You try to keep him safe but yes, I would get him off one of my teammates. Of course I would get him off. You have to. Those are the guys you go to war with. One hundred and sixty-two games, plus Spring Training, that’s your true family. They’re going to support you more than your own brother that’s playing for another team. You have to maintain the respect and protection for your teammates.”
Martinez spent parts of two seasons as a teammate with his brother Ramon. Their time together came to an end once the Los Angeles Dodgers traded the younger right-hander to the Montreal Expos in November 1993.
