Anatomy of a baseball brawl:
Even before Bryce Harper stepped into the batters box at AT&T Park a year ago Memorial Day, Giants reliever Hunter Strickland knew he was going to direct his best fastball at the Washington Nationals slugger’s … hip, side, back, whatever.
Reason being? Three years prior, during the 2014 postseason run that culminated in the Giants’ third World Series championship in five years, Harper had homered twice off Strickland. Then again, who didn’t that autumn? Harper paused to admire one of the blasts — too long by Strickland’s inner stopwatch.
Years later, Strickland wound up and unleashed a 98-mph heater into Harper’s right hip.