Yeah, because no one in baseball EVER did that before.
Pitchers intimidating hitters and occasionally throwing at them has long been a part of the game. But such incidents were infrequent and largely confined to tactics such as backing the hitter off the plate. Of course tempers flare in sports, and that kind of thing occasionally manifests itself on the field of play. But whenever Ventura took the mound, it was expected that he would throw at somebody. He was likened to an on-field arsonist. Even his own team was disgusted with his routinely dangerous antics.