The punch to Geno Smith's jaw by a teammate is reminiscent of another headline-grabbing event 36 years ago involving the Yankees. Ace reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage sustained a broken thumb on his pitching hand on April 19, 1979, after tangling with teammate Cliff Johnson in a clubhouse brawl that resulted in Johnson being traded two months later.
"I really feel awkward and strange recounting it," Johnson, 68, said from his home in San Antonio, Texas. "Bringing it up was something I was never comfortable with. I'm not a pugilist. But a man that's attacked is going to do what a man has to do.