Having baseball withdrawals? Well, it’s summer right now in Australia, and the hardball circuit is in full swing Down Under.
The Australian Baseball League isn’t above throwing a few fists when necessary, either, as the Sydney Blue Sox and Brisbane Bandits showed last week.
Tampa Bay Rays prospect Patrick Leonard, who is playing with Brisbane in the offseason, sparked an all-out brawl when he barreled over Blue Sox catcher Daniel Arribas (Pittsburgh Pirates) at home plate. The two exchanged words after the hit, but Brisbane’s Joshua Roberts really set off the mayhem when he sprinted out of the dugout and clocked Arribas square in the face.
The teams proceeded to grapple on the field for another 30 seconds or so before cooler heads prevailed and the players returned to the dugouts.
Roberts, a former rugby player who also spent time in the Cleveland Indians’ minor-league system, was punished most harshly for the incident. His six-game suspension is the longest in ABL history.
Check out the full brawl in the video below, with a hat tip to The Big Lead.
