MLB

ESPN IGNORES CONTEXT OF VENTURA-RYAN FIGHT

LIKE soft shell crabs and hay fever, serious brush-back pitching and mound-charging is seasonal. And ’tis must be the season.

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In fact, during Tuesday’s “SportsCenter” — a day before the David Wright/Brad Thompson incident and hours before the Prince Fielder/Guillermo Mota episode — ESPN alertly noted that it was the 16th anniversary of the Robin Ventura-Nolan Ryan “epic.”

And it was an unforgettable episode, at least the juicy punching parts, the only parts we’re visually and viscerally encouraged to remember.

Unfortunately, as is ESPN’s habit, no historical context was provided. It seemed as if the footage from the Aug. 4, 1993, hassle, shown all day, was an excuse for ESPN to pull a piece from what I suspect is internally labeled, “Sacred Baseball Brawl Reel, Use Often,” from which SportsCenter previously had anointed Ventura-Nolan Best In Show.

If only ESPN had broken down that episode the way Joe Morgan analyzes every pitch to .236 batters, Ventura would be recalled not as the young fellow who charged a 46-year-old sure-shot Hall of Fame pitcher and got his head repeatedly punched for it, but as the victim of “code of baseball” circumstances and a sustained victim of context-barren history.

In the first game of that White Sox at Rangers series, two nights earlier, four batters had been hit. Bad blood was on the boil.

So when Ventura singled in the first off Ryan to give Chicago the lead, and then another run scored on an error, Ryan, quickly down 2-0, was in a rotten mood. Then, in the bottom of the second, Texas’ Juan Gonzalez was hit by a pitch from Alex Fernandez.

And so, in the top of the third, Ventura became a likely target for retaliation, which in turn established him as somewhat obligated, as per 1993 macho code, to charge the mound, once thrown at.

And when Ryan hit Ventura with the pitch, thrown toward the midsection, Ventura hesitated then ran to the mound. Ventura never threw a punch; neither fist was even clenched. At worst, Ventura’s body language told us, he would shove Ryan; he surely sensed that tangling with a pitching legend 20 years older than he could not leave him a winner, win or lose.

Ventura, known throughout his career as civil-headed and personable, it seemed clear, only wanted to go through the motions. Ryan, with no way of instantly recognizing that, grabbed Ventura, put him in a one-armed headlock and with his other arm hit Ventura in the head with six upper cuts. And that was the only part of that story, on its 16th anniversary, ESPN was eager to show or tell.

So, Robin Ventura, victim of unfair and untold history and a reluctant victim of the code of baseball in 1993, here’s to you: Happy Anniversary!

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Although he certainly tries hard, John Sterling, alone, is not responsible for the continued pathetic state of Yankee radio.

Wednesday, after Derek Jeter slid into third, Sterling declared him, “Safe!” then immediately had to read an ad: “And keep you and your family safe and secure with a policy from New York Life!” (Had Jeter been out, Sterling might have had to reach for the ACME Exterminators copy.)

On Tuesday, Andy Pettitte was no help, either. He kept pitching to Vernon Wells, thus rudely interrupting Sterling’s read of a Steiner Collectibles offer in conjunction with Melky Cabrera’s hitting for the cycle.

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YES Yankees analyst John Flaherty’s brilliance is found in his simplicity and modesty. On Tuesday, he described his approach to hitting: “My game plan was pretty simple: Look for the fastball early in the count. If it worked out, great. If not, I go back behind the plate and catch.”

Doesn’t matter how many Emmitt Smiths it hires nor how much they cost, ESPN will keep hiring retired athletes only for their name recognition, which, as an attraction, lasts two minutes. Whether they have broadcasting ability is something to learn later, too late. Dave Winfield as a studio analyst has made for a series of such excruciating moments — he’s either unprepared or speaks in applies-to-all generalities — that you can’t help but identify ESPN’s thoughtless thought process.

Dept. of Can’t Make This Stuff Up: YES’s “Geico Play of the Game,” Wednesday, a catch by Jays’ CF Vernon Wells, was entirely hidden behind a graphic that read, “Geico Play of the Game.” . . . Let’s see if we’ve got this straight: Eric Mangini was a great hire for the Jets because he’s all business, 24/7. And now Rex Ryan is going to be a great Jets’ coach because he keeps it light, and players like that.

From reader Mark Morley: “Gary Sheffield was injured [Wednesday] running to first. NOW you see why the Mets don’t run to first? Ya happy now?”

phil.mushnick@nypost.com