Brawl breaks out at Dragons game

[redlegsfan21]

DAYTON — A first-inning four-run rally quickly escalated into a bench-clearing brawl between the Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs tonight at Fifth Third Field that halted play for an hour and 9 minutes.

The game was resumed at 8:51 p.m. after the league office in Beloit, Wis., reversed 17 ejections that were handed down following the brawl, which lasted about 10 minutes.

Dayton shortstop Zack Cozart had to leave the game after being hit in the head with a pitch and Peoria second baseman Gian Guzman went out with a broken left leg.

Trouble may have started in the top of the first when Dayton pitcher Kyle Lotzkar hit the second batter, Nate Samson.

That half-inning ended without further incident, but when Cozart came to bat as Dayton's second batter — with a runner on first — he was drilled in the left side of the helmet by a Julio Castillo pitch.

Cozart fell to the ground immediately and eventually was helped to the dugout, finished for the evening.

Following an out, Brandon Waring then hit a slow roller toward second that Castillo tried to field. Guzman ran up behind him and fell over Castillo, breaking his leg. He had to be removed by stretcher.

That loaded the bases and Denis Phipps hit a pop fly half way down the right field line that bounced sideways into the stands for a ground rule double, scoring two runs. Catcher Devin Mesoraco then singled home two more runs.

Dayton's next batter, Angel Cabrera, was hit with a pitch, reacting angrily by throwing his bat and batting gloves toward his dugout. When Keltavious Jones, Dayton's next batter, hit a grounder to second, Cabrera slid into second, legs high, to break up the double play.

Now Peoria shortstop Nate Samson reacted angrily, gesturing it was too rough a slide.

Castillo then threw a pitch close to Brandon Menchaca's head, prompting Dayton manager Donnie Scott to leave the third base coaching box and complain to home plate umpire Tyler Wilson.

That prompted interim Peoria manager Carmelo Martinez to join the conversation, which quickly became heated, and when Martinez pushed Scott, the benches emptied.

Several fights broke out behind home plate, and Castillo threw a ball that sailed into the stands behind the Dragons' dugout, hitting a fan who had to be taken to a hospital.

Menchaca jumped on Castillo and eventually both managers and 15 players — including eight Dragons — were ejected from the game.

Those ejected from the Dragons were starting outfielders Justin Reed and Phipps, Kevin Feiner (who was taking the place of Cozart), starting catcher Devin Mesoraco and pitchers Henry Arias, Jeremy Horst, Jeff Jeffords and Luis Montano.

Peoria lost five starters, including outfielders Brandon Guyer and Cliff Anderson, catcher Mario Mercedes, third baseman Jovan Rosa and Castillo as well as pitchers Steve Vento and Audy Santana.

Within 45 minutes after the ejections were announced, they were reversed after the Class A Midwest League office heard what happened from the umpires.

The ejections were reversed because the teams did not want pitchers to play the outfield positions, which would have occurred had the ejections stuck.

Walt Jocketty, general manager for the Reds, the parent club of the Dragons, and Terry Reynolds, director of player development for the Chiefs, whose parent club is the Chicago Cubs, made that feeling known to league President George Spelius by phone.

Jocketty and Reynolds happened to be at the game.


Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

http://www.oxfordpress.com/n/content/oh/story/sports/pro/dragons/2008/07/24/ddn072508spdragonsweb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=34

[blacksilverfan12]

Nasty...do you think the GM's presence had anything to do with it? (Their presence)

[redlegsfan21]

Several fights broke out behind home plate, and Castillo threw a ball that sailed into the stands behind the Dragons' dugout, hitting a fan who had to be taken to a hospital.

This is just the worst part of it.

[efin98]

This is just the worst part of it.

No excuse for that whatsoever...

[redlegsfan21]

http://www.whiotv.com/video/16983334/index.html

In this video, you can see the Peoria pitcher throw the ball at 0:34.

[OleMissCub]

Video taken from the stands shows the extent of the brawl...this wasn't no benches clear and people tussle around brawl, it was an all out melee:

NSFW
http://youtube.com/watch?v=e36dZAmW8JU

[RuthMayBond]

I'm awaiting my sister-in-law's e-mail, she works there sometimes

[rockin500]

This is just the worst part of it.
and hes been charged with felony assault.

[Erik Bedard]

Julio Castillo should be suspended for a lengthy amount of time. There is absolutely no excuse for throwing a lethal object at people with the intention of hitting them three times. One guy hit after the other team hits one of yours, okay, I can sorta see that. Hitting a second guy, not so much. Throwing at a third guy's head and he should be ejected already. Then he throws one at the dugout... this guy is crazy. And then he tries to go at the fans with a bat when they shout at him...

EDIT: Missed rockin500's post. Has a player ever been sentenced to time in jail for an incident that occurred on the field?

[Seattle1]

I don't think people should have fist fights.

[Captain Cold Nose]

I don't think people should have fist fights.

I agree, I think we should emulate animals and just bite each other.

[Erik Bedard]

Or be Mike Tyson and do both.

[digglahhh]

.

EDIT: Missed rockin500's post. Has a player ever been sentenced to time in jail for an incident that occurred on the field?

Jose Offerman, maybe?

[NJMetfan4life]

Or be Mike Tyson and do both.

Excluding babies I hope.

[Old Sweater]

I agree, I think we should emulate animals and just bite each other.

Happens all the time on the ground.....:)

Just some kids blowing some steam off.

[dgarza]

Just some kids blowing some steam off.
I'll remember that next time some kid pulls a knife on me.

:shrug: When do kids stop being kids?
Anyway, the managers were the 1st to get physical.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Excluding babies I hope.

You remember the Lennox Lewis fight? "I want to eat his children!"

Lewis had no children. But Tyson had his rear handed to him anyway.

Blowing off stream is one thing. This was one of the worst brawls I've seen. The Dragons very much play up a family atmostphere, and do something about every inning that would keep a child's interest, races and stuff like that. The few people I've talked to who were at the game (the company I work for is a longtime sponsor) were absolutely shocked at how bad it was.

[Old Sweater]

:shrug: When do kids stop being kids?
Anyway, the managers were the 1st to get physical.

Guess not ever in baseball and other sports.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Guess not ever in baseball and other sports.

I don't have a problem with it as long as it stays on the field and that's all they're actually doing, blowing off steam. When it gets to the point they're physically trying to hurt each other, to do actual damage, then it becomes more than just a way to get rid of some aggression.

[RuthMayBond]

Just some kids blowing some steam off."Just" a "professional" injuring an innocent spectator :rolleyes:

[EddieBrinkman'sGlove]

Julio Castillo belongs in jail. Hope he gets the crap beaten out of him.

[RuthMayBond]

DAYTON — A first-inning four-run rally quickly escalated into a bench-clearing brawl between the Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs tonight at Fifth Third Field that halted play for an hour and 9 minutes.

The game was resumed at 8:51 p.m. after the league office in Beloit, Wis., reversed 17 ejections that were handed down following the brawl, which lasted about 10 minutes.

Dayton shortstop Zack Cozart had to leave the game after being hit in the head with a pitch and Peoria second baseman Gian Guzman went out with a broken left leg.

Trouble may have started in the top of the first when Dayton pitcher Kyle Lotzkar hit the second batter, Nate Samson.

That half-inning ended without further incident, but when Cozart came to bat as Dayton's second batter — with a runner on first — he was drilled in the left side of the helmet by a Julio Castillo pitch.

Cozart fell to the ground immediately and eventually was helped to the dugout, finished for the evening.

Following an out, Brandon Waring then hit a slow roller toward second that Castillo tried to field. Guzman ran up behind him and fell over Castillo, breaking his leg. He had to be removed by stretcher.

That loaded the bases and Denis Phipps hit a pop fly half way down the right field line that bounced sideways into the stands for a ground rule double, scoring two runs. Catcher Devin Mesoraco then singled home two more runs.

Dayton's next batter, Angel Cabrera, was hit with a pitch, reacting angrily by throwing his bat and batting gloves toward his dugout. When Keltavious Jones, Dayton's next batter, hit a grounder to second, Cabrera slid into second, legs high, to break up the double play.

Now Peoria shortstop Nate Samson reacted angrily, gesturing it was too rough a slide.

Castillo then threw a pitch close to Brandon Menchaca's head, Where in the crap were the umps? What happened to giving warnings, and tossing guys out? :crazy:crazy:crazy:crazy:crazy:crazy

[dgarza]

Where in the crap were the umps? The umps?
How about security????
I saw no attempts to stop this at all, and it came real close to getting into the stands. Wait, it did get into the stands!
If 1 fan runs onto the field, you have 2-3 officers on him. I guess sometimes they draw the line at 40 people fighting.

[Williamsburg2599]

Bill Simmons, back in his good days, wrote a brilliant article about baseball fights.:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1239718

The first rule is:
No. 1. Nobody ever gets hurt

Of course, you're pushing it if you chuck a baseball into a crowd of people, but under the unwritten rules of basebrawling, this is usually true.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Of course they're trying to hurt each other???????

Mere slugging it out is often just that, blowing off seam as you said previously. But throwing objects at somebody or calculatedly measuring certain body parts is much worse.

[Old Sweater]

Bill Simmons, back in his good days, wrote a brilliant article about baseball fights.:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1239718

The first rule is:
No. 1. Nobody ever gets hurt

Of course, you're pushing it if you chuck a baseball into a crowd of people, but under the unwritten rules of basebrawling, this is usually true.

No 1???? Impossible!

[Old Sweater]

Mere slugging it out is often just that, blowing off seam as you said previously. But throwing objects at somebody or calculatedly measuring certain body parts is much worse.

Most of that is done in the game.

[dgarza]

Of course, you're pushing it if you chuck a baseball into a crowd of people, Luckily, he didn't have the arm of Rob Dibble.

[Old Sweater]

"Just" a "professional" injuring an innocent spectator :rolleyes:

On purpose? Of course not.

Person was treated and released anyways.....not maimed for life.

[RuthMayBond]

The umps?
How about security????If the umps do their job, it's probably a moot point

<I saw no attempts to stop this at all,>

You saw the whole thing?

<If 1 fan runs onto the field, you have 2-3 officers on him. I guess sometimes they draw the line at 40 people fighting.>

If they're professional athletes, you might actually do the same thing

[RuthMayBond]

On purpose? Of course not.

Person was treated and released anyways.....not maimed for life.Then THAT's ok :shrug:

[Old Sweater]

Then THAT's ok :shrug:

No.....but neither is the lady that had her jaw broke by a maple bat that kept her eye on the ball.

Tempers flair and things happen. Maple bats break and things happen.

MLB can control one of these and it ain't the temper.

[dgarza]

If the umps do their job, it's probably a moot pointTo a point, but is general security that much of an umpire's job?



You saw the whole thing?
True, I only saw videos. But out of 5-7 minutes of video clips, I don't remember seeing any security getting involved.

If they're professional athletes, you might actually do the same thing
I am not a professional security guard or police officer. I would not have a gun nor authority.
Professional security guards and police officers are professionals, too, and should do their job professionally, too.

[Brad Harris]

Outrageous! What are the league offices doing in Beloit?!?

[redlegsfan21]

DAYTON — A judge on Friday set a $50,000 cash bond for Peoria Chiefs pitcher Julio Castillo on a felonious assault charge stemming from his beaning of a fan Thursday during a brawl between his team and the Dayton Dragons at Fifth Third Field.

Castillo appeared via video Friday afternoon, July 25, before Dayton Municipal Judge Carl S. Henderson. Castillo, speaking through an interpreter, told the judge his passport is with his teammates in Peoria, and Henderson ordered that the passport be surrendered.

Preliminary hearing set for 9 a.m. Aug. 1

Castillo's attorney, Kevin Braig, said Castillo has no prior offenses and the team takes the charge very seriously.

Castillo is being held in the Montgomery County Jail.

Dayton police arrested and charged Castillo after his errant pitch hit 44-year-old Middletown resident Chris McCarthy. Castillo, a resident of the Dominican Republic, told Dayton police he intended to hit someone in the Dragons' dugout, according to a police report

McCarthy could not be reached for comment Friday. He was interviewed by two Middletown detectives on Friday who said McCarthy plans to avoid all contact with the news media.

According to the Peoria Chiefs Web site, Castillo was drafted into the Chicago Cubs organization in 2004. He has played for the Chiefs since the beginning of the season and also played for them for a while at the start of the 2007 season.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/pro/dragons/2008/07/25/ddn072508pitcherweb.html

[redlegsfan21]

What Happened
48047

[dgarza]

Tempers flair and things happen.I guess it don't count when you're drunk too.

[dgarza]

Castillo, a resident of the Dominican Republic, told Dayton police he intended to hit someone in the Dragons' dugout, according to a police report

I'm guessing he should have kept him mouth shut about that detail.

[Old Sweater]

Dayton police arrested and charged Castillo after his errant pitch hit 44-year-old Middletown resident Chris McCarthy. Castillo, a resident of the Dominican Republic, told Dayton police he intended to hit someone in the Dragons' dugout, according to a police report


What is it with pitchers??? Have a hard time throwing to a base or a dugout.


I predict a settlement outta court and charges swept under the rug.

[Old Sweater]

I guess it don't count when you're drunk too.

Counts same as temper. Things happen and you're held accountable.

I'm all for no alcohol at ballparks though.

[dgarza]

I'm all for no alcohol at ballparks though.Maybe we can just allow it in the dugouts?:twocents:

[dgarza]

What Happened
48047
So where does Lee's army come in?

[RuthMayBond]

My sister-in-law also works occasionally at Dayton Bombers hockey games. She could say that she went to a baseball game, and a hockey game broke out :confused:

[Brad Harris]

Great. Jocketty was at the game so we'll probably wind up getting one of these Peoria players for Griffey or Dunn and they'll wind up with a mysterious injury now. :rolleyes:

[Williamsburg2599]

What Happened
48047

We need more charts like this. I prefer all my news in infographic form. :dance

[Knick9]

An absolute disgrace. Did you know that a baseball can be a deadly weapon? I have no idea where that pitcher's head was at when he did that, but it sure wasn't in the right place, I can tell you that much.

I just wonder where common sense has gone throughout the years...

[digglahhh]

We need more charts like this. I prefer all my news in infographic form. :dance

SMH @ these guys - swagger jacking The Onion!

[Seattle1]

Let me put it this way: I have never been more glad not to be 44-year-old Middletown, OH resident Chris McCarthy!

[BlueJayTime]

Ah brawls, the best part about baseball for sure and this was one of the best! Can't wait for this type of brawl in the MLB so there will be better high lites!

[dgarza]

Ah brawls, the best part about baseball for sure and this was one of the best! Can't wait for this type of brawl in the MLB so there will be better high lites!Tired of the HRs already?

[RuthMayBond]

From my sister-in-law, I asked her if she worked that game-

"Yes, I did. What a fight! Personally, if the umps would have ejected their pitcher after he hit the second guy, it would not have happened. But, instead, it took Donnie Scott to come out and complain. The interim coach took offense at Donnie insisting the ump eject the pitcher, so he shoved him; which, in turn, got our guys off the bench and on to the field.

Then, in the middle of it all, their pitcher (who was beaning our guys, on purpose) decided to wind up and throw a fast ball at our dugout, he missed and hit a fan smack in the middle of the forehead. Knocked him out cold. Nobody knew that until someone yelled for help. The EMTs were on another call. Just before this all happened, one of the Chief's guys broke his leg (in two places), so they were not around to respond. It wasn't until they reviewed it on tape did they realize it was the chief's pitcher who threw it. He was arrested and booked for assault and battery. He's still in jail.

Before that happened though, he (the pitcher) decided to go in to his dugout and grab a bat. When Phipps (our player), decided to do the same. It took 4-5 people to hold them back. It was hilarious. 8 of our players and 7 of theirs were ejected. However, after they realized there would be nobody to play the fielding except for the pitchers, they got a ruling from the league president, to reverse the ejections and finish the game. We've never had a brawl before, so nobody knew what to do. LOL

Believe me, it was worth the hour wait!!! LOL"

[digglahhh]

Ah brawls, the best part about baseball for sure and this was one of the best! Can't wait for this type of brawl in the MLB so there will be better high lites!

Yeah - and we hope you'll be in the stands to witness it... :crossfingers:

[timothy]

Personally, I can do without these brawls. Fun to watch on tv but not fun when you're there personally. Lots of responses in the Dayton Daily News have ranged from glad they didn't take their kids there that night to it shows competitive spirit types. My co worker was at the game and she said she was embarassed to have been there and her teenage daughter and her friend weren't enjoying it when it all went down.

I've been to Dayton Dragons games before and it had always had that family atmosphere. This is just a black eye that will go away. It kind of sucked that the Reds GM was there to have seen it.

On that note, if you ever come Dayton way, go check out a game there if you can get the tickets, probably just lawn seating, but it's a good place to be in the summer.

[BlueJayTime]

Yeah - and we hope you'll be in the stands to witness it... :crossfingers:

If I was there I would have been participating baby! :bowdown::rofl::highfive::dance:cap:

[spark240]

The ejections should not have been overturned. So a few pitchers would have had to play the outfield? So what? Isn't the authority of the umpires and the integrity of the game more important than the regimen of these delicate professional athletes?

One of the primary effective checks on on-field behavior is the possibility of ejection, and the consequences for the team which follow from that.

[Mild Sauce]

I really hope the Cubs release that moron. I don't want anyone like that having any place with my team.

[RuthMayBond]

I might be going Labor Day weekend, I'll try to start something :eek:

[Captain Cold Nose]

I might be going Labor Day weekend, I'll try to start something :eek:

Ah, man, I'm going to be out of town Labor Day weekend. You starting a fight here and me not being able to be a part of it. I'd get your back, it would be just like Shane.

Maybe timothy can take my place.

[RuthMayBond]

Ah, man, I'm going to be out of town Labor Day weekend. You starting a fight here and me not being able to be a part of it. I'd get your back, it would be just like Shane.

Maybe timothy can take my place.Pretty much the only fights I start are for baseballs into the stands :hide:

[Hammerin Hank]

I might be going Labor Day weekend, I'll try to start something :eek:

Haha, stay out of trouble or you might end getting someone beaned.

[Death to Crawling Things]

Where in the crap were the umps? What happened to giving warnings, and tossing guys out? :crazy:crazy:crazy:crazy:crazy:crazy


Yeah, normally they tend to give a warning when a pitch is an inch inside. :confused: This was the anti-modern umps.

[Death to Crawling Things]

I really hope the Cubs release that moron. I don't want anyone like that having any place with my team.


Nah, he'd be perfect as a reliever. You'd just have to keep a special cage in the bullpen for him. :)