RetroSimba

Allen Watson, a Cardinals pitcher struggling to get outs, and Orestes Destrade, a Marlins batter struggling to get hits, took out their frustrations on each other.

On May 22, 1994, Watson hit Destrade with a pitch, triggering a fight on the field at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami.

Watson and Destrade were ejected and each received a suspension _ Watson for eight games and Destrade for four. Cardinals outfielder Bernard Gilkey and Marlins pitcher Luis Aquino also got ejected for instigating another fight and Gilkey got a four-game suspension for inadvertently making contact with umpire Charlie Reliford.

Bruised feelings

Watson entered the Sunday afternoon start with a 6.70 ERA for the season and Destrade came in batting .210.

In the first inning, Destrade hit a two-run double against Watson. In the second, Watson yielded a solo home run to Rich Renteria and two-run home runs to Carl Everett and Jeff Conine, giving the Marlins a 7-2 lead. Everett’s home run was his first in the major leagues.

After Conine delivered the Marlins’ third home run of the inning, Destrade stepped to the plate and Watson’s first pitch hit him in the back.

“Obviously, it was intentional,” Destrade said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Said Watson: “I was trying to throw inside and it ran too much and hit him.”

Sticks and stones

Destrade charged toward Watson, who removed his glove and flung it hard in self-defense. The mitt struck Destrade, knocking the eyeglasses off his face. Columnist Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch said Watson displayed “his best location of the day” with his glove toss.

“I knew he was going to charge, so I wasn’t going to stand there and get my head kicked in,” Watson said.

Destrade grabbed Watson in a headlock and landed a punch to the face.

“I fight with my fists,” Destrade said to the Palm Beach Post. “I didn’t throw my helmet at him. He has to take his medicine.”

As both benches emptied, Watson and Destrade grappled until separated by teammates.

“Basically, he’s a wimpy, little gutless college boy,” Destrade said. “He was trying to make up for stinking. What he did isn’t being an athlete. It’s being a wimp.”

Replied Watson, “A wimp? I was calling for him to come out. I charged at him, too. I didn’t back down. That’s not being a wimp.”

Redbirds rally

Rich Rodriguez relieved Watson and pitched 3.2 scoreless innings. As Rodriguez was returning to the dugout after an inning, a fan threw a cup of beer at him and Rodriguez hurled his glove at the guy.

“It wasn’t an Anheuser-Busch product,” Rodriguez said. “That’s what got me upset.”

The Cardinals scored four in the sixth to get within a run at 7-6. The Marlins responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning against John Habyan to go up 9-6.

Rob Murphy held the Marlins scoreless in the seventh and eighth, keeping the Cardinals in the game.

In the ninth, the Cardinals had two outs and none on against Marlins closer Jeremy Hernandez, who had nine saves and a 1.42 ERA on the season.

After Jose Oquendo walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, Mark Whiten drove him in with a double, making the score 9-7. Ray Lankford’s single scored Whiten and got the Cardinals within one at 9-8. After Luis Alicea singled for his fifth hit of the game, Gregg Jefferies doubled down the right-field line, plating Lankford and Alicea for a 10-9 Cardinals lead.

“I had nothing on any of my pitches,” Hernandez said. “I probably should have told the coaches I felt terrible.”

In the bottom of the ninth, Mike Perez struck out Kurt Abbott, hit Bret Barberie with a pitch and got Dave Magadan to ground into a game-ending double play. Boxscore

Destrade played two more games for the Marlins, got released and never played in the big leagues again.