Hey A-Rod! Here's a history lesson!
By Joe Davis
This quote is from this morning's Hartford Courant: "It wasn't your generic baseball brawl, like if you're playing Kansas City. You could tell there was some residual passion there from before I was involved in it," Say Alex Rodriquez.
Oh, little Alex. You may be pretty but you are also naíve. Some quick research will show you that the boys in KC can mix it up with the best of them.
On Oct. 9, 1977, New York Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles fielded a throw from the outfield to tag George Brett out after an RBI triple. Brett slid into third and crashed directly into Nettles. Moments later the two were throwing punches and both teams leaped out of their dugouts and stormed the field. During the mayhem, Ron Guidry caught Brett by the neck and just as he was about to throw the punch someone tapped him on the back. Teammate Thurman Munson said, "Ron, don't hit him. I want to hit him." from SteinerSports.com
The following is an excerpt from "The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: Baseball Desk Reference" by Lawrence Lorimer:
"In 1980: Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett flirts with the .400 mark all season before finishing at .390, the highest batting average in the majors since Ted Williams batted .406 in 1941. The Royals win the AL West, and Brett hits a three-run homer thats beats the Yankees in the playoffs and sends the Royals the World Series."
"I know I captured a lot of the media's attention this past season," Brett explained, "but the Royals have a team built on teamwork, not on individuals."-BaseballLibrary.com
On July 24th, 1981 (Which happened to be the same day as yesterday's game) the Royals' George Brett hits a home run off Yankee Goose Goosage to give the Royals a 5-4 lead with two outs in the top of the ninth. Yankee manager Billy Martin protests that Brett's bat has an illegal amount of pine tar. The umpires agree, nullify the home run, call Brett out, and rule the Yankees have won. The Royals appeal the game [and later on win the game as they counted the home run and played the remaining outs of the 9th inning].
