Baseball Managers Fistfight In Summer League Game
By Ross Kelly
Every summer there are numerous collegiate baseball leagues that sprout up to showcase the talent of the amateur players. These kids are willing to travel all across the country to get some extra work in not only for their upcoming season, but also for local scouts. The Alaska Baseball League is one of these leagues but it wasn't any of the players who made names for themselves, but rather opposing managers after they got into a fistfight.
The larger man in the black is the Anchorage Bucs manager, Mike Grahovac, while the shorter man is the Peninsula Oilers manager, Kevin Griffin. Grahovac had been ejected and apparently had some parting shots (no pun intended) for Griffin who was coaching third base. As you can see, some naughty words and a chest bump led to an all-out brawl, between adults, that had to be separated by college kids.
Some notes from the fight:
Hats off to Griffin for not backing down. According to Grahovac's baseball reference page, he is 6'5" and his playing weight is listed at 230 lbs. Griffin is clearly not either of those but didn't concede to the bigger man.
There were just two punches thrown and each did more damage to accessories than to the intended targets. Grahovac's punch goes right over Griffin's head (I guess there is an advantage to being the shorter man) and only knocks off his hat. Griffin's return shot partially connects with Grahovac's left cheek but he got enough of it to knock a cigarette from his ear to the ground.
The best action in the video actually comes at the :07 mark. The guy in red, knee-high socks appears to be running in to break up the scuffle but he receives a textbook hip-toss by what appears to be another coach. Upon getting back to his feet, those two appear to be getting into it before the video cuts away from them.
It appeared that none of the bad blood carried over to the actual players as I didn't see any posturing or over-aggressiveness from any of them. At the :49 mark it actually looks like a couple of the opposing players are laughing and joking around. Regardless, I don't think this "fight" will make anyone's top 10 list of best baseball brawls.
Ross Kelly is an Associated Producer for CBS Local Sports. He is from Louisiana and is a fan of all sports, but not of any teams (except LSU). He can be reached at ross.kelly@cbs.com.
