Moment #97: Nolan Ryan Beats Down Robin Ventura | MLB's ALL-TIME MOMENTS
This MLB offseason, we are starting a countdown of the 100 greatest moments in baseball history. These moments helped make the game what it is today. They all had an impact in the short or long term and endure to this day in the hearts and minds of baseball fans everywhere. We continue with #97: when the old man, Nolan Ryan, embraced his country hardball style and gave a young Robin Ventura's face a makeover.
There is nothing in sports quite like a good-old fashioned scrap. Whether it be because a pitcher intentionally hits the opposing team's best hitter, or someone slides too hard into second base, the occasional bench-clearing brawl can really get the adrenaline going. For as many as there have been and as many as there will be in the future, there are very few brawls that can match up to the one between Nolan Ryan and Robin Ventura on August 4, 1993.
Nolan Ryan was the definition of country hard ball. He would put you on the seat of your pants if you showed him up and sometimes, even if you did something as simple as get a hit off him. That's exactly what Ventura did against Ryan in the first inning of the pair's game between the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox. To dissuade him from trying something as daring again, Ryan drilled Ventura on the arm his next time up.
Ventura took exception to this, knowing about Ryan's reputation for throwing at opponents for a variety of reasons. As a result, he decided to rush the mound and confront his assailant. His face probably wishes he hadn't. In one of the most unbelievable fights in the history of baseball (at least while it's been televised for the world to see), Ventura takes a couple seconds, flips his helmet off and then runs right at Ryan.
The flamethrower quickly had Ventura subdued in a headlock and began repeatedly punching the slugger in the face as they tumbled backward off the mound. In short order, both teams were pushing the pile as Ventura worked to get free of Ryan's grasp. He eventually did, but the damage, both to his reputation and his face, were already done.
27 years ago today, Robin Ventura charged the mound after being hit by 46-year-old Nolan Ryan. Bad decision.(via@Rangers)pic.twitter.com/Pbz2T60abp-- FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX)August 4, 2020
27 years ago today, Robin Ventura charged the mound after being hit by 46-year-old Nolan Ryan. Bad decision.(via@Rangers)pic.twitter.com/Pbz2T60abp
The two teams went at it for a couple minutes until things died down. Just when it seemed like each would return to their respective bench, things flared up again and two-sport star Bo Jackson found himself in the middle of the scrap. It's hard to believe anyone wanted to go up against him in hand-to-hand combat.
That's exactly why a future President of the United States wasn't involved in the brawl that day. As part of the Rangers' ownership group at the time, George W. Bush said he considered rushing the field during the brawl. One glance over at Bo Jackson on the field, though, and his mind was made up: staying in the stands might be his best option.
In today's MLB, several players would have been ejected from the game, but get this: Ryan was not tossed and was allowed to resume the game. According to CBS Sports, the umpiring crew's reasoning for that decision was that he was allowed to defend himself against Ventura rushing the mound. That logic only sort of makes sense if you believe Ryan wasn't throwing at him intentionally, which he had done to dozens of other players over the course of his career.
Strangely, Ventura and White Sox manager Gene Lamont were tossed from the game. You would imagine a decision like this would stir up some controversy in today's MLB. Anyone somewhat involved in the fight, especially Ryan, would have been ejected, fined, and likely suspended. Twenty-five years ago, things were different.
Adding insult to injury, Ventura even reaching base didn't end up mattering for more than a few seconds. Craig Grebeck replaced the ejected Ventura on first base as a pinch runner and was quickly picked off by Ryan. In many ways, the Rangers' hurler got the last laugh that day. Even if he plunked Ventura on purpose, he didn't allow that runner to advance into scoring position that inning. Ryan, who was 46 compared to Ventura who was 26 at the time, was pitching in one the final games of his career.
He got the win to move his overall record to 3-3 that season and he would only start six more games in his career after that brawl. When you look beyond the strikeout crown and the seven no hitters he threw, one of the next things that comes to mind about Nolan Ryan's career is this brawl and the fact it happened in the extreme twilight of his playing career.
It turned out either his control improved or his propensity for hitting opposing batters diminished later in his career, because he hit just one batter that season out of the 291 that he faced. Depending on how you look at it, this could point even more to the fact he hit Ventura on purpose, or it could lead you to believe it was an accident.
Although some fans would prefer to pretend the two still have bad blood between them after such a nasty brawl, Ventura and Ryan have reportedly made up. It did take some time, though. Unbelievably, it took 19 years for the two to cross paths again after the incident. Ventura was in his first season as manager of the White Sox in 2012 when they faced the Rangers in Arlington. According to ESPN Dallas, Ryan, then an owner of the Rangers, went to the White Sox's clubhouse to wish him luck before the game.
These two individuals may have moved past this ugly incident, but as with most events like this, the fans never forget. When Ventura's name was announced in Arlington that night, the Rangers' fans in the crowd booed him loudly as if the brawl had happened yesterday.