Sunday, June 09, 2002
Cinergy Moment No. 24. - July 22, 1986
The Ray Knight - Eric Davis Brawl
By John Erardi, jerardi@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
One of the great brawls in Riverfront/Cinergy history occurred in the 10th inning of a 14-inning game against the talented New York Mets, who would win the World Championship that season, with the until-then-popular-with-Reds-fans Ray Knight playing third base.
Knight had earned his popularity in Cincinnati the hard way — taking over at third after Pete Rose left for Philadelphia for the 1979 season — and making the National League All-Star team that year and hitting .318, third-best in the NL. Knight was traded to Houston before the 1982 season, and by the Astros to New York in August 1984.
But on July 22, 1986, the worm turned for Knight with Reds fans, when the Reds' Eric Davis slid hard into him at third base in the 10th inning and Knight punched him in the face. In Davis' 1999 autobiography, Born to Play, Davis wrote, “I still don't know why Knight got mad and started punching.” Knight, now the Reds bench coach, said last Wednesday the reason he punched Davis is because Davis did a pop-up slide into him hard and pushed off on him.
“He told me to get off of him and I said, "I'm not on you — you came in here pushing me,' and then he turned away and that's all that was said until he expletive-deleted me,” Knight recalled. “He looked me right in the eyes, and I felt threatened. I had a real short fuse back then — and I unloaded on him. (The Reds' Eddie Milner) charged over and I hit him, too. The next thing I knew, there were guys all over me.”
The brawl lasted a full 16 minutes. After Knight was ejected, Mets catcher Gary Carter took over for him at third, and Mets manager Davey Johnson flip-flopped relievers Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco between the outfield and the mound to keep them both in the game. The Mets went on to win the battle — 6-3 in the 14th inning — but Knight lost the war.
He was never again popular in Cincinnati, not even when he managed here for 10 regular-season months from April 1996 through late July 1997.
“After the fight with Eric, things changed,” Knight said. “I was the bad guy. I came back here to coach (May 1993 through 1995 under Davey Johnson) — and it was (misconstrued by fans) that I had back-stabbed Davey (to gain the manager's job). It was the farthest thing from the truth.”
Although Knight continues to be booed inside the park, he said the letters he receives from fans are “great,” and he always receives good wishes from fans while he's eating out downtown.
“This is my home in baseball,” Knight said. “I love this town and this organization.”
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Cinergy Moment No. 24. - July 22, 1986
