(Updated July 22, 2019)
The intensity got turned up to maximum levels when Whitey Herzog managed the Cardinals against counterpart Roger Craig of the Giants.
On July 22, 1986, a scuffle involving the Cardinals and Giants in St. Louis was sparked by a war of words between Herzog and Craig.
The Cardinals, powered by an eight-run fourth inning, led, 10-2, in the bottom of the fifth when their speedster, Vince Coleman, swiped second and third.
After a walk to Ozzie Smith, reliever Juan Berenguer threw a wild pitch to Willie McGee. As Coleman broke for home plate, catcher Bob Melvin recovered the ball and threw to Berenguer, who applied a hard tag on Coleman. Berenguer voiced his displeasure with Coleman for stealing bases with his team ahead by eight runs.
When Coleman next batted in the seventh, reliever Frank Williams spun him away from the plate with an inside pitch. Umpire Bob Davidson issued a warning to both teams. With his next delivery, Williams hit Coleman in the left leg.
Herzog and Craig, a former Cardinals pitcher, had a heated exchange at home plate and “got shoves in as umpire John McSherry tried to restrain them,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Craig accused Herzog of ordering Coleman to steal in order to embarrass the Giants.
“Whitey is a great manager,” Craig said to the San Francisco Examiner, “but I told him that was bush.”
Herzog told the Post-Dispatch, “I guess he thinks he invented the damn game or something.”
Both benches emptied and skirmishes broke out.
Giants pitcher Mike Krukow butted Coleman with his head and Coleman wrestled him to the ground, according to The Sporting News. When Giants utility player Joel Youngblood tackled Cardinals pitcher Ricky Horton, Herzog grabbed Youngblood by the neck. Giants infielder Randy Kutcher tried to pry Herzog off Youngblood, and Herzog tangled with Kutcher.
According to the Post-Dispatch, Herzog said to Kutcher: “Oh, you want some of me?”
Someone spiked Cardinals second baseman Tommy Herr in the face and neck. He needed eight stitches to close the wound.
Craig, Williams and Giants third baseman Chris Brown were ejected.
“It’s an outrage,” Herzog told the Associated Press. “I’m talking about Roger Craig. It’s bush league. If he wants us to stop running, he can send over a note promising to stop trying to hit home runs.”
Replied Craig: “I’m glad it happened. It showed me what (the Giants) are made of.”
The players followed the lead of their managers.
“Vince is going to run regardless of what point of the game we’re in,” Herr said. “That’s his game.”
Said Cardinals outfielder Any Van Slyke: “To throw at Vince for running is like throwing at Mickey Mantle for hitting home runs.”
Said Youngblood: “You never want to humiliate your opponent. If you do, you have to be prepared to accept the consequences. It’s almost like an unwritten rule. It’s baseball.”
Giants first baseman Bob Brenly said to the Post-Dispatch, “They were kicking the snot out of us. There was no need to rub it in. I feel (Coleman) was trying to show us up.”
Said Coleman: “I wasn’t there to show anybody up.”
The fracas seemed to inspire the Giants. After pulling to within three runs, 10-7, the Giants had two runners on base with two outs in the ninth before Todd Worrell got Candy Maldonado on a flyout to right. Boxscore and Video
“They had the tying run at the plate in the ninth,” Herzog told The Sporting News. “That’s why we run.”
“They were belly to belly” One of my favorite 80’s baseball fights of all time. Happened on the same night that Ray Knight and Eric Davis fought. Ray Knight said ‘Good night’ to Davis!
Great description. Thanks for your comment.
I remember at another game the next year, Danny Cox broke Chris Brown’s jaw with a pitch.
Thanks. Yes, it was May 4, 1987, when Danny Cox hit Chris Brown with that pitch. Brown was out of the lineup until June 18. Here is the May 4 boxscore: https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1987/B05040SLN1987.htm
The temper tantrum by Roger Craig and the Giants was uncalled for. The Cardinals started this series floundering in last place. They had to do something to give them some life. Also, in 1986, the Giants actually did a good job of keeping the Cardinals running game in check. The Cardinals were 14 for 23 in stolen base attempts San Francisco. If you then add on three runners picked off at first, the Cardinals success rate against them is just slightly above 50%, when overall, the Cardinals had a success rate of 71%. This series did jump start the Cardinals. They went 40 and 30 the rest of the way. The Giants, who were tied for first, went 33 and 36.
Thanks. Baseball is similar to politics _ lots of theatrics and bluster in the heat of the moment. When Whitey Herzog quit on the Cardinals in July 1990, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sought reaction from many baseball insiders. Roger Craig told the newspaper, “I always respected Whitey as a manager and thought he was great for baseball. During the course of the game, as far as strategy is concerned, he’s one of the best I’ve ever gone up against. He’s excellent at knowing the personnel of both his team and the team he’s managing against. You hate to see things like this (Herzog’s departure) happen, but I can understand why it did. Unless you’ve actually managed, there’s no way to know the pressures involved with this job.”