DENVER – The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.
And the second rule of Fight Club is: if you throw a weapon at my head, you better be ready to stand and throw hands.
The Colorado Rockies, from manager Bud Black on down, have made it abundantly clear that they are not proud of what transpired at Coors Field on Wednesday between themselves and the San Diego Padres.
They understand their position as role models and, to a man, apologized to any young kids who happened to witness the dust-up between the division rivals.
“We don’t show up to the ballpark to create that kind of atmosphere. We understand that there’s a lot of kids watching us play, you know,” said team-leader Carlos Gonzalez. “There’s a lot of kids who love number 28 [Nolan Arenado] and that’s the last thing they want to see. But, we’re human beings and everyone reacts different. We all make mistakes if you want to call it that way. But, no matter what, we’ve always got each other. So, Nolan reacted that way, of course we’re going to support him and we all went out there and tried to protect him. Like I said, we’re not trying to fight. This isn’t a fight, it’s baseball, and sometimes it happens.”
In this statement, CarGo sums up the Catch-22 that he and his teammates found themselves in the moment Arenado took a step toward the mound after a 96 mph fastball went whizzing behind him at about shoulder height.
You don’t get to threaten a person’s livelihood just because you’re angry and silly, ancient, unwritten rules dictate you do something stupid and dangerous.
German Marquez, who was ejected for his part in escalating things, reiterated the regret emanating from the post-game clubhouse: “I saw things that should never really happen. You know, we are role models for kids. We know they’re watching this game and we all watch this game. We all make mistakes in life, and we made one today.”
But perhaps the only mistake worse than outright engaging in a benches-clearing brawl would have been not to.
“We are a team and we care for one other and fight for each other,” Marquez said later.
So many little combustible elements had been bubbling under the surface but once your best player, a premier player in the game, has decided what just happened is unacceptable, the team better have his back. And they did.
“I mean the guy was throwing 94, 93. That was the hardest pitch he threw all day, like 96, 97, close to your head,” continued CarGo. “We don’t know how you’re going to react. I don’t how I’m going to react if I’m going to charge the mound or say something. But, everyone’s different. Nolan reacted that way, and we’re going to go out there and try to protect him, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Gonzalez and teammates had one goal in mind once they stormed the field.
“By the time I reached the mound, we were surrounded by Padres, so my one concern was to try and protect him the whole time,” he said. “Even if you have to take a couple punches or throw some punches, just make sure you’re gonna be out there for your teammates.”
But there were some involved in the fracas who seemed to have another agenda. Padres coach Mark McGwire could be seen engaging in an intense conversation with Arenado as the umpires struggled to restore order.
According to Gonzalez, who was nearby, McGwire admitted that the Padres had team-wide intent with their decision to throw at one of the best players in the game as a retaliation for Scott Oberg’s accidents the night and series before.
There was some back and forth, some words,” CarGo said of the altercation within an altercation. “He said we hit a couple guys and he was like, ‘What do you expect? Of course we’re going to send a message.’ But, it’s over. We still have a lot of games ahead of us against the Padres. We’re here to play baseball, we’re not here to create any more problems, so I’m excited to do that.”
Arenado was a bit more diplomatic about the exchange.
“He was trying to explain something, I was trying to explain something, no big deal,” Arenado said. “I got respect for Mark.”
Where Gonzalez’ statement about the surging tensions being relegated to the past came off like a declaration, the man at the center of the action struck more of a hopeful tone.
“I don’t know, we’ll see. I don’t have the answer for that one,” Arenado said about this whole thing being over and done with. “We play them in a couple weeks here, so we’ll see. But hopefully, we can win the series. They won the series, and I don’t think we’re happy about that. So, hopefully, we can get a series against them.”
And he knows the hammer is coming down on him.
“Yeah, I expect to get suspended, he said. “I don’t know how long. Hopefully, it’s not a long time, but I expect something probably be happening.”
Manager Bud Black says, despite knowing his pitchers weren’t hitting anyone on purpose, he could tell the Padres’ frustrations were growing.
“I could sense some, you know, when you’re down on the field, you can hear some frustration from the other dugout at times, and I sensed that from their side,” he said.
As far as commenting on the fight itself, Black wouldn’t go much farther than to say: “It’s part of the game.”
The Rockies would prefer to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind this whole incident away. There were a lot of hit batsmen but nothing was intentional.
Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders.
McGwire and Luis Perdomo made it clear that their, far more reprehensible actions, were intentional. And then Perdomo didn’t even have the courage to stand by his, cowering away from an encounter he unnecessarily started.
It’s also important to remember the seventh rule of Fight Club: fights will go on as long as they have to.
These two teams will be battling each other, one way or another, all year.
“I mean, things happen,” Arenado stated. “It’s part of the game. I know these situations are part of the game. You drill a couple guys, they’re going to come at you. It is what is. But, like I said, we won today and that’s all that matters. I was really happy about that. Hopefully go back tomorrow and get another win.”
The Rockies have been playing .500 baseball so far in 2018, but they are 1-0 in the ring.
Violence on the baseball diamond should never be condoned and storylines about how moments like these can spark a team that needs one are a bit overblown.
But the Colorado Rockies have established early on that they will literally run into hand-to-hand combat for each other if they must.
That trust will embed itself in the team but now it’s time to move on and focus on the field. After all, the first rule is… well, I’m not really supposed to talk about it.
