My Favorite Season: Part II- The Fight

Mike Steadman, Sox Super Fan

Second in an occasional series on the 2000 White Sox; what they meant to one fan and what impact that season had on the franchise.

Saturday, April 22, 2000 dawned with the young, unheralded White Sox riding a three game winning streak and holding a one game lead in the American League Central. Jim Parque took the hill against the Tigers’ Jeff Weaver in front of 16,000 plus at Comiskey Park that afternoon. The Sox spotted Detroit a 1-0 lead but rallied to put up three runs in the fourth keyed by two RBI’s from surprising rookie centerfielder (and future Sox broadcaster) Chris Singleton. Trouble began to brew in the sixth when Weaver plunked Carlos Lee immediately before getting pulled from the game by Detroit manager Phil Gardner. Unpleasant words were exchanged between Lee and Weaver as Carlos made his way to first base.

Now cruising with a seven run lead Jim Parque hit Dean Palmer of the Tigers in the arm with the first pitch of the seventh inning. Next all heck broke loose. Palmer charged Parque and threw his helmet at the diminutive Sox hurler on the way. Both benches and bullpens cleared in an unusually violent baseball brawl. I’d instruct you to check it out yourselves but the very uncool folks at Major League Baseball had it taken off YouTube. One lowlight of the incident was three Tigers players repeatedly punching Sox closer Keith Foulke in the face. Foulke was alone in the outfield and had little ability to defend himself. Some Sox fans will remember Tigers backup catcher Robert Fick screaming at the outfield crowd on his return to the visiting bullpen and getting completely doused with beer and/or other beverages. Detroit first-base coach Juan Samuel threw himself into the melee…his wild punches ultimately leading to the longest suspension (15 games) of any player or manager involved.

The Pale Hose went on to win the baseball game by a score of 14-6. But the impact of this brawl wasn’t truly felt until the suspensions were handed down by Major League Baseball six days later. Manager Jerry Manuel was ordered to sit out eight games and Jim Parque three. These suspensions presumably indicated that MLB believed Parque hit Palmer on purpose. I believe they were correct on that belief. Emerging stars Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Lee were suspended for five and three games respectively for their roles in the altercation. Sox Pitchers Keith Foulk, Bobby Howry, and Tanyon Sturtze were lost for three games apiece.

Following the announcement of the suspensions the Sox lost nine of their next twelve ballgames. This stretch led to a 13-14 record for May; which would stand as their only month under .500 that season. Following the fight I recall fan sentiment over Miller Lites generally expressing belief that the brawl would “bring the team together” and would ultimately be a beneficial experience for the young club. May proved otherwise as the team may have missed the steady hand of Jerry Manuel but certainly missed the services of its suspended front-players.

At risk of over-emphasis however, this fan believes that the 2000 Sox showed some mettle through this experience. Jim Parque never had outstanding stuff and certainly never had much velocity to his fastball. His career following 2000 was short but he proved to be an old-fashioned pitcher who believed in sticking up for his teammates. Whether Carlos Lee was hit on purpose or not by Jeff Weaver Parque made sure by plunking Palmer that the Sox would not be mistaken for a team that could be easily intimated. Its debatable what, if any, effect the melee had on the team as a whole. After a difficult May during the suspensions the Sox rebounded quite nicely. But that game-turned-streetfight certainly became one of the more memorable moments in a special season.

Thanks to CNN/SI.com for archiving their reports of both the game and the announcement of the suspensions. Each installment of this series would not be possible without the game reports and statistics found on www.baseball-reference.com