By Gina Morrone ‘14

It’s hard for Americans to come up with a sentence containing ‘Canada’ and ‘Mexico’ without discussing what’s in between them: the U.S. But something else got between them during last Sunday’s Round One matchup during the World Baseball Classic. It’s not like the two countries’ governments have ever really held hands in support of one another, but they’ve also never shared an experience like this one.  A full on brawl took place during their first-round game, and let me just say, it was pretty awesome.

Here’s what happened: Canada was up 9-3 in the top of the ninth inning, already a convincing win.  Normally, winning teams don’t have much of an incentive to tally on more runs when already ahead, and in the extensive unwritten rulebook of baseball, it’s poor sportsmanship to run up the score. But in the WBC, run differential can break a tie.  So Canadian catcher Chris Robinson bunted (a good one at that) and easily made it to first base.  This perceived slight caused the Mexican third baseman to motion to his pitcher, Arnold Leon, to hit Canada’s next batter.  After two close calls, some dirty looks, and a warning from the umpire, he hit Rene Tosoni in the back. That’s when the benches cleared.

This wasn’t a schoolyard tussle. These guys were throwing each other to the ground and throwing hard punches.  In addition to the grappling, punching and glaring (check out the Giants’ Sergio Romo, his staredown is downright terrifying) between the players, the fans even got the coaches involved. The decidedly pro-Mexico crowd of Arizona threw garbage onto the field, and one baseball came extremely close to hitting Canadian first base coach Larry Walker.

Regardless of this incredible fight, the Canadians beat Mexico 10-3.  But the biggest, baddest country of them all, the United States, won the pool and eliminated both Canada and Mexico, reminding the two just who has dominance in North America. That statement notwithstanding, these two losers have provided the most exciting moment in an otherwise lackluster “Classic.”