Miguel Cabrera wasn't happy about something and he wasn't going to take it anymore. Anger turned physical quickly and the physical element spilled over for both the detroit tigers and the new york yankees as the benches cleared. Austin Romine was the initial beneficiary of the aggression, but more would feel it by the time the scrap was over -- it was one of the ugliest brawls of the baseball season.

Cabrera gets things started

It appeared as if Cabrera may have been hit by a pitch from Tommy Kahnle, which he took exception to. As words were exchanged, Romine decided to step up to the Tigers' batter and give a few pearls of advice himself.

When he decided to pull his mask off, it was all over. Cabrera immediately shoved him and then started throwing haymakers before Romine tackled him to the ground, a WWE bout breaking out during a major league baseball game.

The sixth inning brawl was the climax of an afternoon of tension between the teams, which started when Tigers starter Michael Fulmer hit Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez with a pitch earlier in the game. The two teams would eventually be pulled apart, with both Cabrera and Romine being shown the showers.

It was going to be much harder to restore order than expected, though, as things would take another turn for the worse in the seventh inning.

Baseball's unwritten code had to rear its ugly head after Cabrera's brawl. Dellin Betances was sent on to pitch for the Yankees. He managed to nail James McCann square in the head with a 98 MPH fastball, which knocked McCann straight to the ground.

Betances claimed afterward that it was unintentional, but the damage was done. The hit batters and the cleared benches continued on and off for the remainder of the game. There will likely be fines and suspensions to go around in the coming days.

Source of Cabrera's ire

Obviously, Romine said something to Cabrera that set him on his path on Thursday.

But perhaps the tension has been building up within the Tigers superstar over the course of a challenging season. This has been one of the worst years of his career. This could be the first time in his Hall of Fame career that he's worth negative Wins Above Replacement. He's batting .254 with 13 home runs and 56 RBIs -- some players would kill for that stat line, but it's ill-befitting of a former king of his sport. It was only a matter of time before the troubles of the season finally boiled over for Cabrera. He just needed a powder keg.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED