ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster and KMOX alum Bob Costas is commenting on the hit-by-pitch tension between the Cardinals and Mets that boiled-over Wednesday with benches clearing in a near brawl.
Costas told Charlie Brennan and Amy Marxkors that former Cards manager Tony LaRussa likely did not approve of the high ball thrown by the Mets to Nolan Arenado, "Tony has always said, going all the way back, and he's had a very long career, if you throw at one of our guys, we'll throw at one of yours, but never above the shoulders."
Costas said pitchers retaliating for teammates getting plunked used to be commonplace, as Bob Gibson told him happened in a game where he hit a Mets player back in the 1960's, "Tom Seaver, then a rookie, hit him. And Gibson was not angered. He saw it as a sign of respect. He tipped his cap, like that's the way it goes, now the ledger is even. I don't think that prevails as much today."
Costas said both Nolan Arenado and the Mets' Pete Alonso had a natural instinct to be angry with pitches thrown near their heads this past series, "He (Arenado) understands there's a tit-for-tat thing that happens in baseball. But, if you're gonna hit somebody, hit them in the thigh or the back side, you don't throw up and in."
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