Tensions between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves nearly boiled over Wednesday night after a series of pitches thrown by and thrown at Marlins’ ace Jose Fernandez sparked a bench-clearing altercation.
Fortunately, the incident never turned physical, but it did lead to the ejection of Braves reliever Jose Ramirez after his seventh-inning pitch buzzed past Fernandez’s head.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, bad blood had been brewing between the division rivals stemming from Braves catcher Tyler Flowers being hit by three pitches during a series in July. Those with a better memory also remember it was almost three years ago to the day that Fernandez drew the Braves ire after admiring a home run a little too long. A lot has changed since, including almost the entire Braves roster, but sometimes seeds planted many years ago can blossom at a moment’s notice.
Those feelings were not evident to begin the series. Nor were they really existent at all until the fifth inning on Wednesday.*During another Fernandez at-bat, he was nearly hit in the face by a pitch that got away from Braves’ starter Julio Teheran. Fernandez didn’t seem annoyed at the time, instead smiling and nodding toward Teheran. One inning later though, Teheran did hit Martin Prado with a pitch. Then in the bottom half, Fernandez hit*Atlanta’s Nick Markakis in the hip with a pitch.
That’s when the previously planted seeds began to grow.
Jose Fernandez talks with Braves catcher Tyler Flowers after reliever Jose Ramirez threw a pitch near his head. (AP) It all came to a head in the seventh when Ramirez fired a pitch behind Fernandez that was a little too close to his helmet for anyone’s comfort. Understandably, that did not sit well with Fernandez. After getting back to his feet, Fernandez attempted to move toward the mound but was cut off by Flowers, who again found himself amid the tension. This time though, Flowers also found himself understanding Fernandez’s mindset.
#Braves Flowers on inside pitch, Fernandez reaction: "Part of the game…I understand the reaction. Can’t say I would react any differently"
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienAJC) September 15, 2016
Aside from Fernandez’s feud with the Braves adding another chapter, perhaps the most notable takeaway here is how the situation was handled. Leading up to the benches clearing, no warning had been issued. Of course, that’s not required to eject a pitcher. That’s up to the umpire’s judgment. But given the past and present history, it’s interesting the umpires didn’t attempt to police things an inning sooner.
It’s one of those*situations where the umpires probably feel they can never win. Often times, it’s felt they dole out warnings without proper provocation. Here, they showed patience, and thankfully the players showed restraint amid a tense situation.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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