The World Baseball Classic has been lurking behind the sports headlines as the teams make their way to the main tournament, but things went national on Saturday as the game between Canada and Mexico was marred by a bench-clearing brawl between the two nations.
According to ESPN.com, the fight involved a number of players and after the brawl seven players were ejected, although none were suspended later on. The fight broke out in the ninth inning of the 10-3 win for Canada and eventually found fans getting into it in the stands as well.
Tyson Gillies of Canada and Mexico pitcher Alfredo Aceves threw punches at each other and it all began after Rene Tosoni was beaned in the back by Mexican pitcher Arnold Leon while the team was down 9-3. The game was played at Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks.
"Whoever says that we're just here as an extra spring training game or we're just here to say we represented our country and then go home obviously didn't see how intense that game was and what it means to everybody that was involved," Canadian slugger Justin Morneau said to ESPN.com.
Once the fight ended, people threw things from the stands, including a water bottle that hit pitching coach Denis Boucher in the face. Eventually police came on to the field ot help break up the first and afterwards Canadian first base coach Larry Walker spoke about what he saw when he was holding back Adrian Gonzalez and Aceves.
"I had a hold of him and I thought I saw Satan in his eyes," Walker said.
World Baseball Classic, Inc., did not give out any suspensions, but said that it condemned the fight.
"Because at least one club -- and potentially both -- will not advance to the second round, WBCI has determined that disciplinary measures would not have a meaningful corrective impact," the statement read. "Thus, discipline will not be imposed beyond today's seven game ejections."
The game had high tension between the two teams as they both needed the win and afterwards both managers said the rules of the tournament contributed to the melee, as run differential is the main component for tiebreakers, meaning that teams need to score as much as possible no matter the situation.
"It was just simply a misunderstanding," Mexico manager Rick Renteria said. "In a normal setting, a normal professional setting I should say, a 9-3 bunt in that particular fashion would be kind of out of the ordinary."