Bench-clearing brawl

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A bench-clearing brawl is a form of ritualistic fighting that occurs in baseball games in which both teams leave their dugouts and bullpens and charge the field in order to fight one another.

Brawls are usually the result of escalating infractions, often stemming from a hit by pitch, or an altercation between a baserunner and infielder stemming from excessive contact in an attempted tag out. They are also known to occur when a batter charges the mound. However, few bench-clearing brawls result in serious injury. In most cases, no punches are thrown, and the action is limited to pushing and shoving. Since a bench-clearing brawl by definition involves everyone on both teams, it is exceedingly rare for all participants to be ejected, even though the pitcher or batter responsible for the precipitating event is often ejected.

Bench-clearing brawls have also been known to occur in other sports, and officials in those sports have been cracking down on such brawls. The National Basketball Association in recent years changed the penalty for leaving the bench in a fight from $500 to a one-game suspension for leaving the bench in a bench-clearing brawl, and in professional ice hockey, a coach is suspended for such an incident.

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