A database of every mound-charging we've found in Major League Baseball. (Patreon)

Hey everybody, it's Jon again. You may have seen that I've launched a new documentary series, THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND.

Behind each and every one of my documentary series is a mountain of research documents, notes, and links that never see the light of day. This time around, I've decided not only to make my primary research doc open to everybody, but to do so while I'm still working on the project. BEHOLD:

Google spreadsheet: THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND

That's all yours. It belongs to you. Browse it, click the links to review the tape, download it, whatever you wanna do. If you're so inclined, you can even use it as a jumping-off point to produce a story of your own.

My thinking is that I'll never be able to make a video on every single one of these, so it'd be a crime to keep it to myself. Moreover, since mound-charging is a new and emerging field of study, I think some peer review is warranted. I'm almost sure I've missed a nonzero number of mound-charging that warrant inclusion. Maybe I've rated some of these too high or too low. Maybe you have some other bone to pick. If so, feel free to leave a comment or hit up Secret Base on Bluesky.

Now that you have this doc, it might be a good idea for me to explain what you're looking at.

Each row contains a mound-charging entry. These are color-coded according to their highest score in either Column H or Column I, which are explained in detail below. (Yellow = 2, tan = 3, orange = 4, red = 5.)

Column A contains a newspapers.com link to an article of the mound-charging in question.

Column B contains the date.

Column C contains the name of the batter or charger. This is almost always the batter, but the definition of this particular individual is somewhat fluid. This person could be a player or coach who charges straight from the dugout or a baserunner. In extremely rare cases, it could even be an umpire or a common citizen.

Column D contains the name of the pitcher. Like Column C, this category allows for some bend. I've decided that pitchers have the same right to incite a charging that batters do; therefore, a small number of pitchers you see here actually conducted a "plate-charging" of sorts.

Columns E and F contain the teams that the chargers and pitchers from Columns C and D belong to, respectively.

Column G is a grab bag of various notes I've scribbled down. These notes are incomplete and I can't yet vouch for the complete accuracy of every single one. Many contain links to video evidence I've found, or additional sources. In some cases, there's a lot more where these notes came from; I've squirreled away tons more research for some entries I'm already planning to expand into their own episodes.

Columns H and I contain the 0-through-5 ratings for the following categories:

COLUMN H: PITCHER AND CHARGER

Charger is almost always the batter, but can be anyone

0 – Verbal

Parties may take steps toward one another, but decline to physically engage

1 – Fight averted

Pitcher and charger are physically prevented from engaging, usually by an umpire or teammate

2 – “Fight”

Pitcher and charger physically engage, but there are no notable strikes or takedowns

3 – Fight

One or both parties score at least one clear strike or takedown

4 – Strong performance

One or both parties score at least one impressive strike or takedown

5 – Clinic

One or both parties score at least one exceptional strike or takedown, demonstrating extraordinary form and mastery of the art

COLUMN I: GROUP PROJECT

Primarily concerning teammates and coaches

0 - Absent

No teammates or coaches leave the benches or dugouts

1- Mill-about

Players and coaches do spill onto the field, but no one engages physically

2 - Fracas

Physical engagement limited to pushing, shoving, or piling on

3 - Rhubarb

Clearly identifiable supplemental fighting

4 - Melee

Resembles a street fight. Typical qualities include multiple flare-ups, multiple simultaneous fights, breakouts into multiple clusters

5 - DONNYBROOK

Warrants police intervention. No longer exclusively a baseball incident

I've ruled that an incident must register a score of at least 2 in at least one of these two categories to merit inclusion to the database. By my judgment, there are 264 mound-chargings between 1950 and 2025 that satisfy these criteria.

In the "Disqualified" tab of this document, you can find dozens more incidents I've found that I decided did not make the cut. I've preserved these entries because a) some of them are still pretty fun, and b) it's possible that I haven't properly assessed some of these and they do in fact warrant inclusion. Again, if you believe this to be the case, feel free to leave a comment or find us on Bluesky.

By the way, in another break from tradition, we've decided to make this post free to view for everyone – you do not need to be a Secret Base Patreon member to have full access to this document. Feel free to share it around!

All right, that's it for now. Got some videos to make.