The Bullpen Beatdown

April 04, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The newsletter that would make Babe Ruth proud.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about one of the craziest brawls in MLB history.

We’ve all seen the footage from the Pacers game now dubbed “Malice at the Palace.”

A similar incident happened in May of 2000 at Wrigley field, and honestly, it doesn’t get brought up much.

It was the ninth inning and the Cubs were making a comeback against the Dodgers when a Cubs fan named Josh Pulliam decided he wanted a hat.

Pulliam reached into the Dodgers bullpen and grabbed backup catcher Chad Kreuter’s cap, and shortly after, all hell broke loose.

The situation quickly escalated, Kreuter and the Dodgers bullpen poured into the stands to fight the fan.

Other fans got involved - throwing beer, debris, and punches at the players.

The melee lasted for several minutes, with security struggling to control the situation.

Afterwards, fans started throwing more shit onto the field, delaying the game even further.

Eventually when they did resume, the Cubs lost.

Ultimately, 16 players and three coaches were suspended for their role in the brawl - it was the largest mass suspension in MLB history.

Kreuter, Glenn Hoffman, Rick Dempsey and John Shelby each drew the harshest punishment: an eight-game suspension.

All of them were also fined.

Three fans were arrested that night, but absolutely nothing happened to the fan who stole the hat.

Zero consequences, zero legal ramifications.

The Dodgers and Cubs eventually settled lawsuits with one guy who claimed Kreuter choked him.

He also sued for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

The fan got $475,000 from the Cubs and $300,000 from the Dodgers in the settlement.

Not too shabby for one wild night at the ballpark.

The Cubs have since relocated both bullpens to under the outfield bleachers.

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If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Turns out, John “Egyptian” Healy was from Egypt - not even close.

He was from Cairo, Illinois and that’s how he got the nickname.

Healy has one of the worst records you’ll ever see, the guy could not win.

John’s career started in 1885, and by the end of it, his .310 winning percentage was the lowest of any Major League pitcher in the decade.

One silver lining was that he got to be one of the ballplayers on the Baseball World Tour, back in 1888.