Ex-Dodger minor leaguer Henry Sosa starts bench-clearing confrontation in Taiwan

Former Dodgers minor leaguer Henry Sosa threw one too many pitches inside in a Chinese Professional Baseball League game, emptying both dugouts.

Henry Sosa, who pitched for the Dodgers in Triple-A Albuquerque during the 2013 season, started a bench-clearing fight while pitching for the Fubon Guardians in the Chinese Professional Baseball League on Sunday.

One day after former Dodger Chin-lung Hu became the fastest player in CPBL history to reach 1000 hits, Sosa sparked a confrontation after throwing several consecutive pitches inside to Rakuten Monkeys hitter Kuo Yen-Wen, the final pitch of the sequence hitting him and sending players from both dugouts rushing out to the mound.

The confrontation was mild by American standards–no real punches were thrown–but the escalation is uncommon in the CBPL.

“For our international viewers, you need to understand that this never really happens in the CPBL,” the commentator from the telecast explained. “It’s usually a very conservative league, they don’t even argue balls or strikes or outs, you know, very often.”

The 34-year-old, Sosa, pitched in ten Major League games with the Astros in 2011; otherwise, he was a career minor leaguer before finding several homes overseas in the Korea Baseball Organization, and now, in the CPBL.

Sosa signed as a free agent with the Dodgers in 2013. He made seven starts in Triple-A, earning a 1-2 record with a 3.72 ERA before being released.

Sosa was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the San Francisco Giants. At one time, Baseball America had him ranked as the team’s fifth best prospect after the 2007 season. He showed promise in High-A and Single-A ball as a 21-year-old where he was 11-5 in 24 starts with a 2.58 ERA.

The right-hander just couldn’t translate his stuff above the low ranks of the minor leagues. His ERA in Triple-A often ballooning above four runs.

As Major League Baseball considers a variety of options for returning to action in the summer, the Chinese Professional Baseball League offers hope as an example of a professional sports league that is able to operate under tight social distancing restrictions, playing in front of empty stadiums.

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