It’s not secret that catcher A.J. Pierzynski was not necessarily a beloved figure among his opponents when he played the game. He pushed buttons, and he was really good at it.
When he was on the White Sox, he did an excellent job playing right into the rivalry with the crosstown Cubs, and it was 13 years ago today that Michael Barrett famously decided he’d had enough:
https://twitter.com/NBCSChicago/status/1130458149092286465
happy 13th (!!) anniversary to this important sports moment.https://t.co/YLqG2smXZh pic.twitter.com/1o7VmAeqfC
— Amanda Kaschube (@amandakaschube) May 20, 2019
Of course, that was not Barrett’s only rumble with a controversial figure while with the Cubs – he also got into it with Carlos Zambrano, which saw Barrett subsequently head to the hospital for stitches (they don’t call him Big Z for nothing), and then traded a couple weeks later.