Wednesday, April 29, 1998

The Assoicated Press

A fight that started in the first row of seats behind the Philadelphia Phillies' dugout ended in six arrests and a delay in their 11-8 victory Tuesday night over the Cincinnati Reds.

A fan was shoved and tumbled over the dugout roof, landing on his back on the floorboards. Several other fans then threw punches in the stands until police arrived.

Phillies manager Terry Francona said police used pepper spray on one fan who was hitting another from behind.

"It was crazy," said Kevin Jordan, who won the game with a pinch three-run homer in the 10th inning.

The Phillies were stunned when the fan tumbled into their dugout in the top of the eighth inning, just as they were rallying to take an 8-7 lead against closer Jeff Shaw.

"I just heard a thump, and I saw a body laying there," Francona said. "I thought, "That's all we need.' I went down there and there was this guy there all wiped out."

A security guard went into the dugout immediately to arrest the man, then left him to try to break up the fight in the stands. The man in the dugout got up and started walking down the dugout.

"They forgot about the guy in the dugout," Francona said. "I said, "You're hitting second.' The cops forgot about him and he was coming down to the bat rack."

Once police made it to the front row and ended the fight, the security guard came back into the dugout and escorted the fan out.

While the fight went on, most of the Phillies came out of the dugout to watch.

"There's a lot of stuff that I saw tonight that I can't recall seeing (before)," Francona said. "We've got the tying run on second base and the whole team is out on the field, not paying attention to the game. The manager was, too."