Watched the Yankees and Rays battle it out today with a hit batter, several ejections, and a bench-clearing incident. (In fact, Shelley Duncan got thrown out twice in one play -- once trying to stretch a single into a double, and once for sliding in high and sparking a near-fight.)

Still, the incident that stands out in my mind also happened near second base, but a couple of hours earlier. During Yankees batting practice, Yankee coach Stump Merrill was chatting with players near the second base screen when he got hit accidentally with a thrown ball. Help was immediately called in, with concerned players milling about as medical techs took him away on a stretcher. Batting practice wass resumed, and the game played on.

Just checked through the local broadcast news and ESPN, both of which covered the "fight" but neither of which seemed to acknowledge the Merrill story which had more of an injury to report. In fact, I didn't even know it was Stump Merrill or the circumstances of the incident until two days later.

We may at times treat these games as the most important thing in the world, but it's incidents like this -- the Stump Merrill one, not the "brawl" -- that put it in perspective.