Odor punched Bautista right in the face, and soon after the exchange, both teams were on the field in one of the most intense brawls in the history of the sports industry. However, the events that transpired Sunday evening in Texas truly does fit the definition of ‘bench clearing brawl, ‘ and features one of the best right hooks we’ve seen on the diamond in years.
Advertisement
Not sure what was more shocking, the brute force and pinpoint connection of fist-to-chin, or Bautista’s ability to absorb the blow and stay upright in the brawl, which continued after the Blue Jays retaliated by hitting Prince Fielder with a pitch in the following inning. Same for Odor, Toronto’s Josh Donaldson and Texas bench coach Steve Buechele.
Clearly, this isn’t the first time the Rangers’ second baseman has gotten physical on the field. The blue shirt also displays the same image but with a “Make Baseball Fun Again” caption across the front, referring to a campaign led by Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper whose goal is to allow baseball players to show more emotion during games.
It’s not the retribution that bothers John Gibbons, it’s the timing.
“I’ve seen guys flip bats, not like these guys do now, but I’ve seen guys flip bats and they get hit and everybody moves on”, he said. If you’re going to play the game hard, don’t get upset when another player, or team, plays the same way. Leyland said. “So it’s not like this stuff just started”.
Desmond’s three-run homer off Jesse Chavez (0-1) that ended with a bat flip put Texas up and moved things to the top of the eighth for Matt Bush (1-0). “It takes a little bit bigger man to knock me down”, said Bautista, who destroyed the Rangers during last year’s AL Division Series, with a batting average of.273 with two home runs and five RBI.
“It was ugly and unfortunate”, Blue Jays manager Gibbons said, according to ESPN. And he also took no issue with the Rangers’ response.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor on Monday said has no regrets over punching Toronto’s Jose Bautista and expects to be suspended by Major League Baseball for his actions. “The other 29 teams, they come at you right away, but to wait until the end, it just sort of tells you something. Just play the game to win games”.
Advertisement
Jose Bautista’s on-field antics reached a boiling point with Rougned Odor Sunday afternoon. “I’m not saying I’m the judge of going too far but. you can react and have fun and do these things without showing up your opponent”.
