Pascual Pérez
Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images
During his ’80s and early ’90s playing career, no one — not even teammates — seemed to know what pitcher Pascual Pérez was going to do next. He developed a reputation for weird behavior like pointing fingers, pirouetting off the mound, and throwing at batters — seemingly at random.
In a 1984 bench-clearing brawl between the Padres and Pérez’s Braves, Pérez set the tone early on by throwing at a Padres batter. He wasn’t thrown out of the game, and his taunting and antics helped to pour fuel on the fire, leading to one of the most epic brawls of all time.