Neither team has anything to play for. Both are so far beyond playoff contention it’s not even worth discussing. The Nationals just shut down their best player for the year. There’s no excuse for the Marlins hitting Nyjer Morgan, except for the fact that Nyjer Morgan is probably one of the biggest jerks in baseball not named Carl Everett. Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad beaned Morgan in the fourth inning; after Morgan stole two bases, he found himself ducking another thrown ball from Volstad, at which point Nyjer Morgan decided that it was time to do something and started a benches-clearing baseball brawl.
I thought it was over after (the fourth inning), but once I saw the ball go right behind me, it’s time to go. Once is good enough, but twice, no, it’s time to go,” Morgan said after the tussle. “I saw him running out. Obviously he’s not coming out there to talk,” said pitcher Volstad, who was a little scuffed up by the ensuing brawl. “I was just trying to defend myself and not get hurt.”
Morgan has a history of unpredictable, hotheaded behavior. He’s been fined and suspended by his own team previously; on August 21, he threw a ball in the stands trying to hit a fan in Philadelphia. Earlier this week, he deliberately took a run and hit St. Louis Cardinals catcher Brian Anderson, who had stepped a couple of feet in front of home plate to avoid the charging Nyjer. Obviously, blame goes both ways, but sometimes a guy just deserves to take a bean ball in the back.
Tags: Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Nyjer Morgan, brawls, fights, baseball fights, Major League Baseball, MLB fights, beanball leads to baseball fight, Marlins vs. Nationals fight, Chris Volstad