Braves, Angels, and a Bench-Clearer

Another piece of news from just down the road in Anaheim caught Rich's eye. The Braves and Angels played each other, and the history between Jorge Soler and Reynaldo Lopez was the subplot. Soler entered the night 14-for-23 with five homers and three doubles against Lopez in his career, and that line included a home run Soler had just hit off Lopez in his first at-bat.

In Soler's second at-bat, a 96 mph fastball hit him. His third at-bat produced a pitch that sailed high and tight, and Soler took a moment to simmer. The Angels broadcast was showing a replay of a stolen base attempt when the feud erupted off-camera. Soler gave Lopez the international symbol of WTF, Lopez replied with something Soler did not like, and Kurt Suzuki said afterward that he did not blame Soler one bit.

Soler charged the mound. Two things stood out to Rich. First, Lopez still had the baseball in his hand when he threw a punch, which Rich dubbed a newfangled knuckleball. Second, manager Walt Weiss flew in and form-tackled Soler like Jeff Van Gundy going after Alonzo Mourning, except this time the takedown actually stuck. The Atlanta Falcons, watching nearby, could appreciate the technique. Rich suggested the Falcons tell Weiss to come put on the pads.

The brawl then spiraled into Rich's real pet peeve. Hockey has a rule against leaving the bench. The NBA does too. Baseball lets bullpens come sprinting in from 250 feet away, arriving after the fight is over and then pretending to be part of it. Rich compared it to reaching for the check after it has already been paid, the performative grab when everyone knows the money is gone. He mimed the slow jog from center field, the late arrival, the disappointed look when the scrum has already broken up.

His co-hosts piled on. Getting in their steps. Filling the ring on their phones. Making sure the health app logged the commute. Rich asked how it is legal to have 12 more people join a fight from 250 feet away after the fight is over, and nobody had a good answer. He reminded everyone that only the Red Sox have been caught with Apple Watches on the bench, which drew the loudest groan of the segment.

The Soler-Lopez brawl had everything. A personal history between hitter and pitcher. A baseball used as a weapon. A manager executing the best form tackle of the week. And a bullpen jog that remains one of the strangest conventions in American sports. Rich may never understand it, but he will never stop pointing at it.