“Down goes Anderson! Down goes Anderson!” That was the call by Cleveland Guardians legendary play-by-play radio announcer Tom Hamilton this past Saturday night.

What led up to that call by Hamilton was Guardian’s 3B José Ramírez hitting a double and the subsequent slide into second base that Ramírez felt White Sox SS Tim Anderson tagged him a little too rough and didn’t help him up.

Ramírez then got up and pointed his finger into Anderson’s face. The benches and bullpens cleared and that’s when Anderson decided to square up. Ramírez obliged and rocked Anderson with a right hook not left.

Guardians manager Terry Francona chuckled when giving that right/left distinction when asked in the postgame press conference.

What made this baseball brawl great was the almost-like blessing that second-base umpire Malachi Moore gave the two. It reminded me of a hockey fight where the referee basically says screw-it, just get it out of your system and have at it.

Baseball taking out its frustrations like hockey does might actually be safer. I know watching someone get knocked out can be scary but it’s better than having a 100-mph pitch come at ones head. Baseball beefs can last a long time so having the players fight it out can speed up the apologies. Jose Ramírez apologized the next day.

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-Ed in Columbus

@Ed_In_Columbus

*photo courtesy of ESPN*