A fight during a Venezuelan winter league game Wednesday took baseball brawling to a whole other level.
Former MLB outfielder Alex Romero — who plays for Aguilas del Zulia — was ejected for attacking and striking Gabriel Lino, a catcher for Caribes de Anzoategui, with his bat after objecting to a pitch that sailed behind him during the eighth inning of Caribes’ 13-2 blowout win.
Needless to say, both benches cleared and a melee ensued that spread into the stands.
It wasn’t the first brawl in the tension-filled game. The benches already cleared earlier and order had temporarily been restored — following a number of ejections — when Romero came to the plate to face Ángel Nesbitt. With a 3-0 count in a 13-1 game, Nesbitt threw a fastball behind Romero, causing the outfielder to swing his bat at Lino.
Romero swung the bat again before dashing away as the benches emptied once again.
Romero, Lino, Nesbitt and four other players were ejected for the eighth-inning fracas, including Minnesota Twins fan favorite Willians Astudillo, who was playing first base at the time. Right after play resumed, pitcher Alex Torres hit the next batter, showing tempers hadn’t exactly cooled down.
According to NBC Sports, Caribes manager Jackson Melian and three other players were ejected in the seventh inning.
There was a live YouTube stream which allowed fans to watch the incident as it unfolded on IVC in Venezuelan.
It’s highly likely Romero will face heavy punishment for his actions.
