On this day in 1996 the Indians beat the Brewers 10-4, but the final result wasn't the game's main story.
Instead, Albert Belle and Fernando Vina made headlines with an ugly incident in the eighth inning. Brewer reliever Marshall Boze hit Belle with a pitch, and two batters later Eddie Murray hit a ground ball to second. Fernando Vina fielded the ball and was immediately leveled by a forearm to the face from Belle. You can see video of the incident and the ensuing events here.
The most amazing part of this story might be the fact that no one was ejected, even after Belle was hit by a pitch again in the ninth. The bad blood didn't end here, either, as benches cleared again the next day after Kenny Lofton shoved Vina in the first inning.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- 2012 Helena Brewer Mike Schaub, who turns 21.
- 2001 Brewer Mac Suzuki, who turns 38.
- 1996 Brewer Tim VanEgmond, who turns 44.
- 1981-82 Brewer Dwight Bernard, who turns 61. We covered his birthday in this space two years ago.
Today is also the seventh anniversary of an ugly Brewer loss in Pittsburgh, as Jose Castillo homered as part of a four-game Pirates sweep in 2006. We covered that event in this space last year.