In a minor league baseball game between the Peoria Chiefs and the Dayton Dragons, a fight broke out. It wasn’t just any ordinary fight you see at a regular MLB game after a pitcher hits a batter be it by accident or on purpose. In this particular fight, a fan actually got injured. No the fan did not jump onto the field and try to beat up a player. What happened?
It all started on Wednesday when three Peoria batters were hit by pitches. On Thursday, Peoria Chiefs pitcher Julio Castillo hit two batters in the bottom of the first inning, one of whom was hit in the head. Castillo’s following pitch was so close to hitting the batter that Dayton manager Donnie Scott went out on the field to complain to the home plate umpire. Interim Peoria manager Carmelo Martinez, replacing Ryne Sandberg, decided to join the party. Then, the party turned into a riot when the two managers started to argue. Marinez then proceeded to shove Scott, and the benches cleared.
During the brawl, an angry Castillo threw the ball towards the crowd. Although cameras never caught the footage of it, a fan was actually injured from that throw. The unidentified fan was treated at Miami Valley Hospital and released. The extent of the fan’s injuries were not made public.
Castillo, the 21-year old pitcher from Domincan Republic, was arrested on Thursday following the fight. Umpires ejected 15 players and the team’s managers from the game after the 10-minute brawl. After a one-hour delay, the ejections were reversed, and the game resumed. Dayton would win by a score of 6 to 5.
As for Castillo, he was accused on a felonious assault charge and held on $50,000 bond. Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias Heck Jr. declared, “This charge is a result of outlandish and inexcusable conduct by a professional baseball player.” Dayton Municipal Judge Carl Henderson also required Castillo to surrender his passport.
