Alfredo Aceves in Middle of Massive Brawl During Canada-Mexico World Baseball Classic Game (Video)

by NESN Staff on Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 6:50PM

It wasn’t quite an international incident, but a benches-clearing brawl broke out between Mexico and Canada during Saturday’s World Baseball Classic.

In a chippy game that had previously involved a late takeout slide and a collision at home plate, Canadian Chris Robinson bunted to lead off the ninth inning with Canada holding a 9-3 lead. Mexico pitcher Arnold Leon responded by throwing at Rene Tosoni and missing as both teams were warned by the umpire. Then, Leon hit Tosoni on the next pitch and the benches emptied.

Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves was heavily involved in the fray, seen wrestling with Tyson Gillies and appearing to suffer a blow to the head. The right-hander was ejected from the game and could face further discipline. Aceves’ Red Sox teammates were reported to have cheered at the sight of their pitcher fighting.

The brawl also spilled into the stands, and Canada pitching coach Denis Boucher was struck in the face with a bottle of some sort thrown from the crowd.

Check out a fan’s view of the mayhem in the video below.