The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates continued their season-long feud on Tuesday night, and did so amid unusual circumstances. How unusual? Yasiel Puig was throwing hands on behalf of his Reds teammates… minutes after reports surfaced on social media that he had been traded to Cleveland as part of a three-team deal for Trevor Bauer.
The nonsense began with the Pirates throwing at Derek Dietrich, who pinch-hit in the seventh. You may recall the Pirates' beef dates back to April, when Dietrich admired a home run he hit against them. That celebration led to the Pirates throwing behind Dietrich, which resulted in the benches clearing. Keone Kela, Amir Garrett, and Puig were each ejected for their parts that afternoon.
Reds' Votto and Pirates' Kela barking and pointing at each other, it appears benches have been warned.
— Rob Biertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) July 31, 2019
Kela threw over head of Dietrich in B7, then appeared to yell something after Dietrich eventually struck out.
Those three each played a role in Tuesday's mess. Kela is the one who threw at Dietrich's head; Garrett later ran from the mound to take on the Pittsburgh dugout by himself, and Puig ended his Reds tenure in the most Puig-like way: pushing around Pirates. Cincinnati manager David Bell, who was ejected earlier in the game, was also heated and made his feelings on the matter clear.
Don't believe us? Just take a look:
The Reds' and Pirates' benches have cleared. pic.twitter.com/za8hYc0zuX
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) July 31, 2019
Yes, that's a five-minute brawl video. Absurd. Here's what Bell said about the incident afterward:
"It's a shame that this is allowed and that they're able to get away with it. They celebrate it. They support it." - David Bell on the Pirates.#BornToBaseball | #Reds pic.twitter.com/cijoC9ty60
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) July 31, 2019
Garrett seemed remorseful for charging the dugout:
Amir Garrett: "I don't condone what I did. It's not in the game for something like that to happen. Sometimes, you let emotions get the best of you. ... I don't like for kids to see that." #Reds
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) July 31, 2019
And here's what Puig said about his now-former teammates:
With trade reports swirling across the baseball world, Yasiel Puig reflects on what may have been his final night with the #Reds.#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/QJqeJqHiwh
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) July 31, 2019
The takeaway here, as Bell alludes to, is that the Pirates seem to be involved in more fracases than any other team in the game -- to the extent that they're still fighting battles they should've been over months ago. At some point, Pittsburgh's culture needs to be examined. If it doesn't happen sooner than later, someone is going to get hurt. That, or we're going to continue to see ballplayers behaving poorly every few weeks.
Puig, meanwhile, is likely to be handed a suspension as he adjusts to life in northern Ohio.