BASEBALL'S UNWRITTEN RULES SURFACED IN BIZARRE FASHION IN THE BRAWL BETWEEN BRYCE HARPER AND HUNTER STRICKLAND

Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals and Hunter Strickland of the San Francisco Giants got into an ugly brawl on Monday after Strickland hit Harper in the hip with a pitch in the eighth inning.

Harper pointed at Strickland, charged the mound, and threw his helmet. The two exchanged blows as the Giants and Nationals rushed the field.

Nobody was hurt in the incident, and both teams did a good job separating Harper and Strickland as opposed to escalating the fight.

Afterward, it became clear that history — and, as usual, baseball's strange unwritten rules — played a part in the melee.

In 2014, during the playoffs, Harper twice homered off Strickland in a series the Giants won. In both cases, Harper perhaps took a little too long to enjoy watching the home runs, and after the second he trash-talked Strickland a bit, yelling, "Again, baby!"

After the fight on Monday, Strickland essentially said those incidents were in his head while pitching to Harper.

"Yeah, I can see how that kind of stands in people's minds, but that's the past," Strickland said. "I left the ball over the plate a couple of times to him, and he's taken advantage of that. So obviously, I'd rather miss in than over the plate."

That's a pretty basic admission from Strickland: I'd rather hit Harper than get homered on again.

Harper also seemed to recognize the incident.

"It's so in the past that it's not even relevant anymore," he said. "They won the World Series that year. I don't even think he should be thinking about what happened in the first round. He should be thinking about wearing that ring home every single night. I don't know why he did it or what he did it for, but I guess it happens."

Harper, however, also said Strickland did something right if it were an act of vengeance.

"One thing I've got to say about Strickland is he hit me in the right spot, so I do respect him for that," Harper said. "He didn't come up and in toward my face like some guys do, so I respect him on that level."

Translation: If you're going to hit me, just don't hit me in my face, please. Thanks.

This certainly isn't the first or last time this discussion will be had. Earlier in May, the Atlanta Braves hit the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista for flipping his bat after a home run — while the Jays trailed by five runs. Still, Atlanta wanted revenge for being shown up by Bautista, who also has a reputation for being a bit excessive in his celebrations.

Both Harper and Strickland may be facing suspensions for the incident, but MLB could come down harder on Strickland if a home run three years ago played a part in intentionally hitting someone.