If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about brawling with the New York Yankees, it’s Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. He took part in one of the most famous brawls in Red Sox-Yankees history, when the teams erupted in a bench-clearing melee during Game 3 of the 2003 American League Championship Series.
So it’s only appropriate that Pedro would offer his thoughts on the good old-fashioned donnybrook that transpired between the Red Sox and Yankees at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Not only would Pedro have done the same thing that Joe Kelly did – which is, drill Tyler Austin in the back as retribution for his hard slide earlier in the game – he would’ve done it sooner.
The only thing I would had done different than Joe Kelly tonight, is I would’ve hit Tyler Austin at his previous at bat. Other than that, Kelly executed perfectly #YankeesvsRedSox
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) April 12, 2018
For context, the brawl began because Austin slid hard into the leg of Red Sox shortstop Brock Holt with the spikes of his cleats facing outward. That’s considered off-limits as part of baseball’s “unwritten rules”.
Whether or not it was intentional, Austin certainly did hit Holt with the bottom of his cleats:
Tyler Austin slides into Brock Holt. (Screenshot via MLB.com)
However, Pedro also believes the game of baseball may be overly adjudicated these days when it comes to things like hard slides. Those have been a part of the game forever, but Austin apparently got a little carried away.
We’re babying the game way too much nowadays.
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) April 12, 2018
As intense as Wednesday’s game got between the Red Sox and Yankees, nobody did anything as memorable as this:
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