The famous Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura brawl took place 27 years ago Tuesday
Nolan Ryan once said he tries to avoid baseball fights, but when Robin Ventura charged him 27 years ago Tuesday, instinct kicked in.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Ryan told The Dallas Morning-News in 2017 about the incident. “Self-preservation is all that goes through your mind when something like that happens.”
Tuesday is the anniversary of one of the most famous fights when Ryan was pitching for the Texas Rangers and plunked Ventura of the White Sox with a pitch. It’s worth noting Ryan was 46 years old at the time.
“I don’t care who it is,” Ventura told the Morning-News. “If they’re going to do that, I got to do what I got to do.”
Here is the entire brawl, via Major League Baseball:
While it’s widely believed Ryan “won” the fight, a few people think Ventura got the better of the deal:
