Johnson and Garcia of the Blue Jays Have a Brief Scuffle at Batting Cage

Cliff Johnson and Damaso Garcia of the Toronto Blue Jays scuffled briefly during batting practice before Tuesday night’s game with the Kansas City Royals at Toronto.

The skirmish was touched off when Garcia objected to Johnson, who is on the disabled list with a wrist injury, taking batting practice with the regulars.

Johnson, four inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than Garcia, told the second baseman he would have to come and take him out of the cage. Garcia accepted the challenge and twice had to be restrained from doing battle with Johnson.

In 1979, while with the New York Yankees, Johnson engaged in a playful scuffle with Rich Gossage in which the Yankee bullpen ace was injured. The Yankees later traded Johnson to the Cleveland Indians.