VIDEO: Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres epic 1984 brawl

John McSherry, chief of the umpiring crew that worked the game between the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves Sunday afternoon, called the series of incidents and subsequent brawls, 'the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. It was pathetic, absolutely pathetic. It took baseball down 50 years.'

He admitted the idea of forfeiting the game crossed his mind, especially after the second brawl started in the ninth inning when Braves relief pitcher Donnie Moore struck Graig Nettles in the back with a pitch. McSherry said he did not call the game because he held the Padres mostly responsible for the afternoon of violence at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

'The only alternative we had was to forfeit, but I would have had to do it to the Braves because they started the second fight, and they were obviously not at fault for this mess,' said McSherry, a 13-year veteran umpire.

McSherry clearly wants San Diego manager Dick Williams to be held accountable for his pitchers throwing six brushback pitches at Pascual Perez. Williams was ejected in the fourth inning, a mandatory ouster following the warning given to both sides in the second inning. The rule has been the subject of controversy because, as San Diego general manager Jack McKeon said, 'It allows for no retaliation. It's OK to be the first team to hit somebody.' Perez hit Alan Wiggins with his first pitch of the game and received no warning.

'We had no reason to believe he (Perez) was throwing deliberately at the batter there was no provocation, ' McSherry said in the defense of home plate umpire Steve Rippley.

'The rule itself basically works fine. But I assume this manager (Williams) decided he didn't give a damn about the rule. He decided he was

going to get Perez at any cost.'

McSherry uttered some obscenities. He was drenched with sweat. This same crew had worked a series earlier in the week in Chicago when a similar beanball war took place between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.

Sunday, he said, 'was much worse. I've never seen violence like that. It's a miracle somebody didn't get seriously hurt. We were very lucky.'

McSherry immediately contacted Blake Cullen, the National League supervisor of umpires, after the game. He later spoke with league president Chub Feeney. A written report and videotapes of the game should reach Feeney in New York today.

'I can't make any recommendations, but if I could . . . I'll just tell him how I saw it. We have to be his eyes and ears, ' McSherry said.

Included in the report will be the ejections of 14 players, managers and coaches. McSherry named three Braves players Steve Bedrosian, Rick Mahler and Gerald Perry who face possible severe penalties. They were ejected in the eighth-inning brawl, only to return to the field for the ninth-inning fracas, a violation of the rules. Craig Lefferts was the only Padres player he named for this offense, although McSherry admitted there could be more, pending a review of the tape.

The umpire praised the Braves' security group for 'preventing what could have been a riot. How many arrests were there? Five? That's good. They kept pretty good control.'

McKeon accused McSherry and the crew of losing control of the game. The umpire scoffed at the suggestion.

'The guy who lost control was in their dugout, ' said McSherry, referring to Williams. 'Joe Torre (Braves manager) handled himself excellently, better than we could have asked for, considering the circumstances.

'There wasn't much more we could do. We threw out players, managers and coaches. We cleared the benches in the last inning. This was the most irresponsible thing I've ever seen.'

McKeon didn't see eye-to-eye with the umpire.

'Who started this thing? Pascual Perez did, ' the Padres' general manager said. 'He threw the first pitch. That's why this is a better league pitchers have to bat for themselves. Maybe this will teach him a lesson. I doubt if he'll ever throw at one of our hitters again. If he does, he better watch out.'