For as long as the game has existed, baseball has been full of big and interesting personalities. From Dock Ellis throwing a no-hitter while on LSD, to Rube Waddell leaving mid-game to chase firetrucks, there’s something about the sport that attracts the weirdest and wildest people to the field — and some of the most insufferable people to the stands.
On one fateful day in 1983, these fans became too much for Chicago Cubs manager Lee Elia. While he was walking down the line with players Keith Moreland and Larry Bowa, a group of around 15 fans began to harass them. According to One Million Cubs, the group shouted insults, barked at the players, and eventually threw full cups of beer at them. It was the latter that caused the players to snap, leading to a brawl that needed to be broken up by Elia.
Frustrated, Elia had had enough — leading to one of the most iconic rants in baseball history.
There are a million gems in this rant. “The motherfuckers don’t even work. That’s why they’re out at the fuckin’ game,” Elia argued. “They oughta go out and get a fuckin’ job and find out what it’s like to go out and earn a fuckin’ living.”
“Eighty-five percent of the fuckin’ world is working. The other 15 percent come out here,” he continued. Sorry to say, buddy, but not much has changed.
There are just so many pieces of wisdom here, as well as some glittering moments of compassion. “It’s a disheartening fuckin’ situation that we’re in right now,” he ranted at one point, later adding, “What I’m tryin’ to say is don’t rip them fuckin’ guys out there. Rip me. If you wanna rip somebody, rip my fuckin’ ass. But don’t rip them fuckin’ guys ’cause they’re givin’ everything they can give.”
Can you imagine your boss whipping out words like that to defend you? I think not.
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