The talk of baseball on Wednesday was the brawl that went down between the Atlanta Braves and the Angels on Tuesday evening. From Braves manager Walt Weiss' form on his tackle of Jorge Soler to the likelihood of suspensions that could arise from the brawl, there is a lot of information to take in and digest after the scrum between the two squads.
However, an added "bonus" from the fallout was the reveal of an altercation that happened between Weiss and Josh Donaldson years ago.
Donaldson only played one season with the Braves, but it was a memorable one. In 2019, Donaldson managed to put up a .259/.379/.521 line with 37 homers to help Atlanta reach the NLDS that season (don't ask about the last game of that playoff series, though). However, as it turns out, it was also the setting of what sounds like quite the scuffle between him and then-bench coach Weiss.
Which of them was administering the choke hold? The older gentleman. It was something, I’ll tell you that. You don’t forget moments like that :)
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 8, 2026
Walt Weiss apparently took down Josh Donaldson years before his tackle of Jorge Soler
First of all, this is quite the visual painted by now-retired Braves beat writer David O'Brien. While this would have been great information to get at the time, as opposed to years later, it is still pretty wild to envision Weiss with Donaldson in a chokehold just barreling through the clubhouse and breaking stuff with O'Brien and Michael Soroka watching. While it isn't completely clear from this account, it seems as though Weiss probably got the better of the exchange.
It is deeply funny that we are learning about this side of Weiss only now, given how long he has been with the Braves at this point. Not only is Weiss apparently a beast in the weight room, but he is also apparently a guy who could hold his own in the UFC. It is pretty remarkable that Weiss never hit more than eight home runs in a season as a player, given what we know about him now.
This is little more than a fun anecdote at this point. Unless Donaldson comes out now and causes a stink over it, this is just going to be one of those stories that adds to Weiss' legend. Hopefully, we don't see too many other instances where we see Weiss get his hands dirty, but it is fun to look back on now.