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Originally Posted by Dakota
Yes, but the reason it would never happen was characterized as a lack of stones on the part of the umpires to do their job. I maintain that it is NOT their job to declare game forfeits except possibly in very rare circumstances, which would probably already have stadium security on the field.
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I don't think it was characterized as a lack of stones in the umpires' ball bags... I believe what Mike was referring to was the lack of stones in the MLB heirarchy. There's no excuse for a bench-clearing brawl, period. It should not be tolerated. Period. MLB needs to step up and address the situation sternly, unlike the way they're handling the steroid issue. Period.
Kids watch these games. Kids immitate behavior. Kids then wonder why they're suspended or kicked out of the league when they start a fight on the field. My father was also a SP umpire, and he reminded me of a game he called where two kids were ready to fight. He tossed them both as soon as the gloves were thrown to the ground. Two more kids from a team's bench came running off, ready to jump in "just like the pros." He tossed them, too, and rightfully so.
If MLB (and other sports organizations, for that matter) won't do anything about it, maybe they should give one of those "TV-MA" warnings at the beginning of the games. Okay, that's a little extreme, but hey. :P