Mad Dog Bill Madlock's Feuds and Fights
by Dan Holmes (Cooperstown, NY)
A member of the Society for American Baseball Research more info
Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock may be the most overlooked four-time batting champion in the history of baseball. One possible reason for this is that he bounced around to six teams in his 15-year career. But he still won those four batting titles, more than any other third baseman until Wade Boggs.
Madlock was known for his intense play, his quick bat, and hot temper. On more than one occasion he threw his body into enemy middle infielders to break up a double play. He also often took umbrage with the decisions of umpires. This led to much controversy in his career.
I've compiled a detailed list of the feuds, fights, incidents and trade rumors from his 15-year career and beyond:
On August 22, 1971, while with Pittsfield of the Eastern League, Madlock was suspended for the entire season
for his involvement in a brawl. It all started when Madlock was nearly beaned in the head by pitcher Bob Cluck. An enraged Madlock broke from the restraint of home plate umpire Ken Kaiser and charged the mound, setting off a war. White Sox scout Deacon Jones, who was in the stands, said, "It was the best fight I've seen in my many years in baseball." The Pittsfield police had to come onto the field to restore order, arresting one player. Several witnesses claimed that Madlock had swung a bat and hit a Waterbury player in the arm. Later, the league shortened his suspension, League President Roy Jackson stating: "As I reconstruct the picture, there was no actual swinging of the bat over his head, but there was some swishing of it back and forth. I want to be fair about it. He (Madlock) has served a 14-day suspension and has paid a $75 fine. That's a reasonable penalty. I feel that he has learned his lesson."
August 1975: Madlock was fined by the National League office for an argument with umpire Art Williams on a close play at first base in which Madlock was called out. In a rare display of invective, Madlock managed to be thumbed by both Williams and home plate umpire Bruce Froemming, who overheard the third baseman's angry, profanity-laden tirade. Two years later Madlock and Williams butted heads again. On July 3, 1977, Williams called Madlock out on
strikes, prompting the Giants' star to fall to his knees, hand his bat to the stunned umpire and proclaim: "You take this and try to hit that pitch."
Not surprisingly, Madlock was run out of the game - his second ejection in as many days.
On May 1, 1976, Madlock was part of a fight between the Cubs and the Giants in Candlestick Park. It was
precipitated by brushback pitches. When Madlock was hit by Jim Barr, the ultimate fight broke out, featuring a real doozy between the Giants' Gary Matthews and Chicago's George Mitterwald. Madlock was fined $500 for charging the mound and throwing punches.
In August of 1976, Madlock criticized his teammates on the Cubs' pitching staff for not "protecting him." After being plunked nine times
to lead the NL to that point, Mad Dog challenged Cubs' pitchers to "get some payback."
Why would the Cubs trade a two-time defending batting title winner? In January 1977, 82-year old owner Phil Wrigley gave the answer: "When these players are impossible to deal with, I'd rather let somebody else have them." Madlock was unhappy with the team's contract offer (reportedly over $100,000) and according to the Cubs, uncooperative. "My bags are packed. If the Cubs don't think I'm worth it, fine. They can send me on. I'd be stupid to sign for $105,000 or $110,000."
The Cubs dealt Madlock to the Giants before the 1977 season started.
In March of 1978, Madlock and Giants' ace John Montefusco got into a clubhouse fight. Madlock interrupted Montefusco as he was being interviewed and soon fists were flying. After the fight, Madlock ripped his teammate: "I've heard and read where Montefusco has said this team is a team of losers."
In the spring of 1979, Madlock got into a feud with Giants ownership. On June 26 he helped instigate an
ugly brawl between the Giants and Braves. Madlock was brushed back by a pitch and after popping up on a later delivery, he elbowed Atlanta hurler Bo McLaughlin while running to first. A full-scale baseball fight ensued, with Madlock
jabbing punches at McLaughlin and Braves' pitcher Larry McWilliams as well. the incident was later called the "final straw" that sent Madlock to Pittsburgh in a trade two days later.
In April of 1980, Madlock hollered at a Pirates' farmhand pitcher (Jess Zaske) to "throw harder!" during batting practice prior to an exhibition game against the Twins. Several Pirates players (including Dave Parker) standing around the cage yelled at Zaske to "Hit him!" Zaske came inside with his next pitch, skimming Madlock's left arm. Madlock walked to the mound and punched Zaske. Asked why he had thrown at the Pirates' star, Zaske said "They told me to." Madlock later apologized for the incident.
On May 1, 1980, Madlock got into his most infamous situation. After home plate umpire Gerry Crawford rung him up on a called strike three, Madlock let him have it. When a teammate handed him his glove, Madlock continued to argue with Crawford face-to-face. During the argument he took his glove and shoved it into the face of the startled umpire. He was immediately ejected and fined. The National League suspended him indefinitely, eventually deciding on 15 days and a $5,000 fine, one of the biggest punishments in history. The furor over his indiscretion was lost on Mad Dog: "If I had wanted to hurt him, I would have." Madlock lost far more than the $5,000 fine. His 15 days of unemployment cost him more than
$27,000 in salary.
In August of 1980, Madlock came under attack by the Chicago Cubs after he rolled hard into second base, taking out rookie
infielder Steve Macko and putting him on the disabled list. Madlock: "I was just being aggressive."
After the 1981 strike was settled, Madlock criticized the scheduling of exhibition games during a training period. "We're better off just working out. I can't get up playing an American League club, not even in spring training."
In May of 1982, Madlock stood up for Pirates' scout Howie Haak, who was embroiled in controversy over some remarks he made about blacks in baseball. Haak claimed the Pirates needed more white players to draw fans. Madlock deflected the controversy, "What Howie said was the truth and it wasn't anything that hadn't been said before. I know Howie. He is not a racist."
In early July of 1985 (while MLB players were on strike), Pirates' team captain Bill Madlock slammed the idea of city or county ownership of the team, which was being proposed by some as salvation for the struggling franchise. "The City Council can't make decisions now on little things. To me, it would be ridiculous... They'd have to understand that baseball is a business, but you can't run it like a business. A corporation, they deal in numbers and to them, a ballplayer would just be another employee."
In August of 1985, Madlock was ready to leave Pittsburgh. He saw the writing on the wall: "Hey, I'm a Pirate, you know that, and it's left up to the Pirates. If they're going to go with a youth movement here and it looks that way, maybe it would be in their best interests to trade me." To encourage a swap to the Yankees, for whom Madlock wanted to play, the former batting champ turned it on against the Mets, knowing that George Steinbrenner was watchful. In a three-game set in Shea Stadium, Madlock blasted four homers, had six RBI, six runs scored, and seven hits. "Do the Yankees need a third baseman?" Madlock said with a sly grin. "I gave them (Pittsburgh) permission. I'm a 10-and-5 man and I gave them no limitations on where I could be traded." Later that month Madlock was dealt to the Dodgers.
In March of 1986, MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth exonerated Madlock in the "Pittsburgh Drug Trials." Madlock's name had been wrongly associated with that scandal, which netted several Pirates' and opposing players for using and selling illegal substances in MLB clubhouses in the early 1980s. Madlock held bitter feelings over the issue, especially toward former teammate Dave Parker, who had told the court that Madlock had given him amphetamines in their Pirates' days. Said Madlock, "It hurt to think that a guy you've known for 10, 12 years, someone you think is your friend, would lie for no apparent reason. I haven't talked to him since - and I don't know if I ever will - so I don't know his reason." MLB's position was that Madlock had been wrongly
accused: "Bill Madlock's reputation on and off the field is above reproach," the commish said. Parker shot back at his former teammate: "...Three or four other individuals had already mentioned his (Madlock's) name. When they asked me on the stand, I wasn't about to perjure myself for a borderline friend..." Willie Stargell had also been accused of supplying players with drugs, but he too was cleared by MLB.
In September of 1987, now with Detroit, Madlock injured Blue Jays' infielder Tony Fernandez with a hard slide in a big game in the
AL East division race. Madlock quickly came under fire, again. Blue Jays players and fans chimed in. Within a few days of the incident, Madlock was receiving death threats in his Toronto hotel room. "It's nothing. I've been in scrapes before, and this ain't even close." The play was a turning point in the race, and Detroit took the
division by two games, eliminating the Jays on the final day of the season.
In February of 1989, more than a year after his final major league game, Madlock was still trying to get back into
baseball. He was discouraged by what he saw, and as usual he was not shy about speaking out. "I'm not stupid enough to believe I can start out at the top, but you don't have to go to college and get a Ph.D. to be a manager. We (blacks) can play for them, but we can't manage them. We can hit home runs and chase the ball, run it down, but when the black player is getting ready to retire, all they say is, 'See you later.'
In August of 1991, Madlock's name was cleared in charges of income tax evasion. It was revealed that his former agent had swindled the IRS and was solely responsible for the shady dealing for which Madlock's name had been dragged into the headlines for a few years.
Madlock suffered some embarrassing episodes after his playing days were through. Twice he was arrested for writing bad checks, once as he was leaving a plane taking him back from an old-timers' event at the All-Star game in 1995. He also failed to appear several times for court hearings, and
subsequently bench warrants were issued for his arrest. Despite the setbacks, Madlock was later hired by MLB to help consult on speeding up the play of games.
»DAN HOLMES is a Detroit Tigers fan, who longs for the days of Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey ("the voice of God"), the "Bemo-Potato Chips Home Run," Mark Fidrych, George Kell and Tiger Stadium. He's disturbed by the shrinking strike zone, the wild card, the tax code...well, he's just disturbed. Dan is the Web Manager for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. He has been published in several newspapers and magazines. He is also a baseball contributor on WJAB radio in Portland, Maine, where he can be heard each Tuesday morning during the season at 7:45 AM.
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