Baseball might be America’s pastime, but that doesn’t mean it’s all peanuts and Cracker Jack. Over the years, the game has produced some truly wild feuds that went way beyond friendly competition and straight into personal vendetta territory.
Whether it was trash talk gone too far, bat flips that lit a fuse, or old-school grudges that festered for years, these rivalries turned downright nasty. From clubhouse clashes to on-field brawls, here are 17 baseball feuds that got personal and ugly.
17. Bryce Harper vs. Jonathan Papelbon
It started with some heated words and ended with Papelbon trying to choke Harper in the dugout. When teammates turn into enemies on live TV, you know things are seriously off the rails.
16. Manny Machado vs. Josh Donaldson
There was no love lost between these two third basemen, who barked at each other from across the diamond more than once. Tensions boiled over during games, with both guys refusing to back down or shut up.
15. Roger Clemens vs. Mike Piazza
Clemens didn’t just throw pitches at Piazza—he threw a broken bat at him, too. Their rivalry was so intense that it overshadowed actual World Series moments.
14. Carlos Gómez vs. Brian McCann
Gómez’s flair and trash talk didn’t sit well with McCann, who famously stood on home plate to block him from scoring. It felt like baseball’s version of a turf war between old-school and new-school vibes.
13. Pedro Martínez vs. the Yankees
Pedro calling the Yankees “his daddy” was the match that lit the fire. The Yankees didn’t forget, and every matchup after that was pure chaos waiting to erupt.
12. Jose Bautista vs. Rougned Odor
One epic punch made this beef legendary. Bautista’s bat flip from the previous season clearly hadn’t been forgiven, and Odor let his fist do the talking.
11. Yadier Molina vs. Brandon Phillips
Phillips tried to play nice with a tap of the shin guards, and Molina wasn’t having it. One fake handshake spiraled into a full-on benches-clearing mess.
10. Chris Sale vs. the White Sox Front Office
When you start cutting up throwback jerseys in protest, things have definitely gotten personal. Sale didn’t just feud with other players—he went after management with scissors.
9. Zack Greinke vs. Carlos Quentin
Greinke hit Quentin with a pitch, and Quentin charged like a freight train. The result? A brawl, a broken collarbone, and a whole lot of animosity.
8. A.J. Pierzynski vs. Michael Barrett
A home plate collision turned into a straight-up punch to the face. Pierzynski didn’t back down, and neither did Barrett—until security had to step in.
7. Alex Rodriguez vs. Jason Varitek
Rodriguez said something that set Varitek off, and the Red Sox catcher went straight for the face shove. That one scuffle summed up the intensity of the entire Yankees–Red Sox rivalry.
6. Frankie Rodriguez vs. His Own Teammate’s Father-in-Law
You know a feud is ugly when it involves a player attacking a teammate’s relative in the stadium hallway. Frankie took things off the field and way over the line.
5. Tino Martinez vs. the Rays Roster
When Tino was a hitting coach, several Rays players accused him of being overly aggressive and downright hostile. The fallout was so toxic, he ended up resigning midseason.
4. Madison Bumgarner vs. Yasiel Puig
Every time Puig admired a hit, Bumgarner’s blood pressure spiked. The two chirped at each other so often that it felt like a grudge that would never die.
3. Billy Martin vs. Reggie Jackson
Martin didn’t just argue with players—he went after his own star in the dugout in front of the cameras. Their feud was all ego, all the time, and it nearly came to blows.
Read More: 20 Pettiest Feuds in Sports History
2. Nolan Ryan vs. Robin Ventura
Ventura charged the mound, and Ryan put him in a headlock like it was a wrestling match. It was a beatdown that turned into one of baseball’s most infamous moments.
1. Barry Bonds vs. Jeff Kent
They were supposed to be teammates, but they couldn’t stand each other for a second. The two nearly fought in the dugout and constantly bickered, turning their time together into a slow-burning disaster.
Read More: 15 Pettiest Player Rivalries in MLB History
