Thursday night’s Peoria Chiefs-Dayton Dragons game turned ugly when a brawl broke out in the first inning after tensions rose after three hit batsmen, a dirty take-out slide at second, a brush-back pitch and an argument between Dayton manager Donnie Scott and Peoria interim manager Carmelo Martinez who was covering for manager Ryne Sandberg, absent due to weekend commitments to the Hall of Fame.  Video of the incident can be found on ESPN here.

The argument turned physical when Martinez shoved Scott and a brawl lasting 10 minutes ensued.  During the brawl, Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo threw a ball toward the Dayton dugout which soared into the crowd and hit a fan who had to be taken to the hospital.  15 players and both managers were ejected but both teams protested by phone and after an hour delay, league President George Spelius reversed the ejections because the parent teams — the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs — raised concerns of being forced to use pitchers as outfielders.

Later, Castillo was arrested and charged with assault for the baseball throwing incident.  According to witnesses the ball was thrown so hard by Castillo that it ricocheted off the fan and landed five rows behind him.

On an editorial note, the fact that the League President caved in to team pressure and allowed the ejected players to return to the game is disappointing — especially after personally viewing the incident.  Hopefully, there will be swift and harsh punishment handed down on all of the parties involved.  A lengthy suspension for both managers should be expected since their behavior sparked the vicious brawl.  What is more disturbing is home video footage floating around on YouTube which you can hear audio reaction of the fans who cheer emphatically over the out-of-control brawl.  

To view the FOX-45 Dayton news story recapping the incident, check it out here.