Pregame Fight Broke Out in Mariners Clubhouse

Reporters were asked to leave the Mariners clubhouse before a skirmish between players took place behind closed doors.

A skirmish between Mariners players broke out in Seattle's cluhouse prior to Tuesday's game, according to multiple reports.

Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon asked reporters covering the team to exit the clubhouse during availability session. Shortly after the doors closed, a fight broke out.

Walked down to Mariners clubhouse here pregame. Doors were locked until they burst open briefly because of a lot of shoving and scuffling inside. Manager Scott Servais briefly addressed it. Says he’s never gone a season where that doesn’t happen at some point.

— TJ Cotterill (@TJCotterill) September 4, 2018

A fight broke out in the Mariners clubhouse about 25 minutes ago. Dee Gordon asked reporters to step out of the clubhouse and all hell broke loose shortly after.

— Curtis Crabtree (@Curtis_Crabtree) September 4, 2018

Seattle manager Scott Servais confirmed that the incident took place, adding that he addressed the situation with his players.

Dee Gordon asked media to clear the clubhouse, and not long after a skirmish involving a handful of Mariners players broke out behind closed doors.

Servais said there are a lot of competitive guys in the clubhouse. Added his job as a manager now is to “listen.”

— David Gottlieb (@DGottliebMLB) September 4, 2018

"You're talking about 25, or now in this case now 35, of the most competitive guys you're ever gonna be around and you spend basically every waking moment together all the time. I've been on a number of different teams, it's something that you will see at some point." -Servais.

— David Gottlieb (@DGottliebMLB) September 4, 2018

"I played for 11 years in the big leagues, it's almost every year. Every year, every team that I've ever been a part of. And sometimes it'll bring teams together. Sometimes certain things hit a boiling point and you gotta get something off your chest and you go from there."

— David Gottlieb (@DGottliebMLB) September 4, 2018

In early June, the Mariners were atop the American League West standings, but have since fallen behind both the defending-champion Astros and upstart Athletics. Entering Tuesday, Seattle trailed Houston by eight games and Oakland by 5 1/2 games for the second AL Wild Card spot.