I was at the game last night, sitting safely in the second deck when the fight broke out. After the initial dust up no one knew that Zack Greinke had broken his collar bone. I don't think it was announced until after the game.For the most part fans at the game just thought it was one of those baseball brawls that featured a lot of wrestling and posturing but no real violence.
Fight!!! #Padres #Dodgers twitter.com/gaslampball/st…
— Gaslamp Ball (@gaslampball) April 12, 2013
After Quentin was plunked, and the two players made contact, it became difficult to tell what was happening from the stands. We saw the pile of players and heard the muffled yelling, but couldn't see the karate chopping, testicle grabbing and eye gouging that can be seen in the photo gallery above.
Eventually players returned to their sides of the diamond and the action seemed to settle momentarily. Fans scooted back into their seats. Again they munched on their Cracker Jacks. That is until Jerry Hairston Jr. ran out of the dugout to start the fight's second round.
Apparently Greinke knew right away that he broke his collar bone and told Hairston that he felt it pop. Hairston, who claims he was the peacemaker throughout the first fight "lost it" when he saw an unnamed Padre "chirping" and "making fun of him [Greinke] having a broke shoulder".
Hairston is very critical of Quentin for losing his temper, but admits to losing his own when he sees a Padres player chirping from across the field. I can understand Hairston's anger, just like I can understand Quentin's anger.
But how could any one on the Padres bench know that Greinke was suffering from a broken bone, unless Greinke told them or they saw x-rays? How is Hariston charging across the field to fight different than Quentin? Sure, no one was hurt in the second round, but they could have been. That's what happens when you escalate an already combustible situation by rushing toward an opposing player or mouthing off.
I don't think Quentin charged the mound in an attempt to break Greinke's collar bone, just like I don't think Greinke meant to start a fight by plunking Quentin. Still there are unforeseen consequences for their actions. When players rush the field to fight or throw inside, sooner or later there are bound to be injuries.
Hariston's actions can be dismissed because no one was hurt, but he made the same mistake that Quentin made and yet he stands by his locker in righteous judgement of him. He's just lucky that his actions didn't cause any further injuries.