The Day Baseball Completely Lost Its Mind
On August 12, 1984, the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres played one of the wildest games in baseball history.
San Diego entered the game in first place in the NL West with a 10½-game lead over Atlanta. This wasn't exactly a pennant race showdown—but by the end of the afternoon, 17 players had been ejected, five fans were arrested, police were called onto the field, and the umpires even considered forfeiting the game.
So... how did it get this out of control?
It started the night before.
During the August 11 game, Padres second baseman Alan Wiggins repeatedly attempted to bunt for base hits. Braves pitcher Pascual Pérez wasn't happy about it, and the two exchanged words throughout the game.
The next afternoon, Wiggins led off against Pérez.
And with the very first pitch, Pérez hit him.
Whether it was intentional or not, retaliation came quickly. Padres pitcher Ed Whitson tried to hit Pérez in the second inning and missed. After three more attempts in the fourth, Whitson and manager Dick Williams were ejected.
Then Greg Booker, the pitcher replacing Whitson, was tossed in the sixth after throwing high and inside toward Pérez. Acting manager Ozzie Virgil Sr. was ejected as well.
In the eighth, Padres pitcher Craig Lefferts hit Pérez.
Again.
The benches cleared, and the situation exploded.
That's where Bob Horner entered the story. Horner was dealing with a broken hand and had been watching from the press box, but he saw where things were headed. He went to the clubhouse, put on his uniform, and joined the chaos.
When Padres first baseman Champ Summers went after Pérez near the Braves dugout, Horner stepped between them.
And somehow, things got even crazier in the ninth.
Graig Nettles was hit and charged the mound. More players were ejected, including Goose Gossage and Tim Flannery—even though Flannery had already been removed from the game.
Then a beer thrown from the stands hit Padres player Kurt Bevacqua.
Bevacqua charged into the crowd.
Fans began throwing drinks and debris at players, several spectators jumped onto the field, and police eventually detained five people.
By the time the dust settled, 12 Padres and five Braves had been ejected—a Major League Baseball record 17 players.
Crew chief John McSherry finally cleared both benches and ordered the remaining players into their clubhouses. Police were positioned on top of the dugouts, and the umpires considered forfeiting the game.
But somehow, the game continued.
The Braves led 5-1 entering the ninth. Gene Garber took over on the mound while the remaining players watched from the clubhouse. San Diego scored twice, but Garber eventually recorded the final out.
The Braves won 5-3.
And after the Padres cycled through so many managers, bullpen coach Harry Dunlop was the acting manager when the game finally ended.
The postgame comments were nearly as heated. Joe Torre called Dick Williams an idiot and said he should be suspended for the rest of the season. Williams insisted the Braves had started the confrontation and declared, “We will not be intimidated.” Braves executive Bob Watson added, “It won’t end here.”
Major League Baseball eventually handed down suspensions and fines to both managers and several players.
In this episode of Extra Innings: A Dugout Time Machine Podcast, Jeff breaks down the entire infamous Braves-Padres brawl—from the feud between Wiggins and Pérez to the beanballs, record-setting ejections, Bob Horner's unexpected involvement, the fan invasion, police response, and the bizarre conclusion to a game that somehow managed to continue after everything fell apart.
The final score was Braves 5, Padres 3.
But that's probably the least interesting thing about this game.
Because on August 12, 1984...
baseball completely lost its mind.
Aug 24 202616 mins