You call that a brawl?

This was a motherfucking brawl right here. First of all, look at two of the principals - Juan Marichal and Sandy Koufax. Also note Marichal brandishing the bat. That would cost him dearly.

On this day in 1965, one of the ugliest fights in baseball history occurred, a donnybrook of mythic proportions between the Dodgers and the Giants. There had been some bean-balling in a game two days prior, and in this game, Dodgers' catcher John Roseboro reputedly wanted Koufax to knock down Marichal. When Koufax refused, Roseboro took the job on himself, whipping a return throw to the mound very close to Marichal's head. A screaming match ensued, and Roseboro threw off his mask to better express himself. At that point Marichal landed a couple of clean bat-shots to Roseboro's head.

All hell broke loose. Bats were brandished by other players. Roseboro was led off the field by Willie Mays, bleeding profusely. His wound required fourteen stitches.

Marichal was suspended for nine days and fined the then-considerable sum of $1,750. But the damage stretched far beyond the immediate punishment - the incident would haunt Marichal the rest of his career and may have postponed his entry into the Hall of Fame.

One wonders if Robby Alomar will suffer a similar fate for the gob of spit he planted on John Hirschbeck's face in 1996 . Somehow I doubt it. Outrage just ain't what it used to be.