Benches cleared shortly after when Bautista slid forcibly into Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor on a groundout and Odor reacted by shoving Bautista and landing a punch flush on the Toronto slugger’s jaw.
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Odor said on Monday, “I know I’m going to be suspended for a couple games, but I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing”, per Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson and Texas bench coach Steve Buechele had also been ejected from the game after the initial fight.
“I just play the game how I play it. I play to win the game”, Odor said.
Gibbons said that he hadn’t heard anything about discipline from Major League Baseball in the wake of the brawl, but punishment is expected. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred responded by saying our younger players taking control of the definition of those unwritten rules is a lot better than some guy whos 67 years saying I did it that way and you do it the same way. But Manfred also said the various groups that participate on the field are going to have to work through a middle ground..
The contest featured eight ejections. I was going out there with intent.
“We’re just looking forward to hopefully turning the page and not letting this be something that defines us a team, but maybe motivated us and sparks us to go on and play the way we’re capable of playing”.
But when you hit the biggest home run of your life to put your team ahead in the deciding game, when that team hadn’t seen postseason action since 1993, it’s understandable to show some excitement. Bautista was in danger of violating MLB’s new slide rule by making contact with Rangers’ second baseman Rougned Odor’s leg.
If Bautista is hit by a pitch in the very first meeting of the season, instead of the very last, he probably never pulls that slide at second base. Odor’s punch came two batters after Matt Bush hit Bautista in the padding on his left elbow and the ball deflected down and hit Bautista in the hip.
Bautista’s homer in last year’s American League Division Series was followed by a bat flip that upset the Rangers and their fans.
Odor’s frustration with the slide was well-founded considering the injuries we’ve seen on such plays. “In the heat of the moment, I think everyone in here did what they think is right to protect our guy”.
Toronto manager John Gibbons took Bautista’s side.
While saying “I never liked it” as a player or manager, Torre said there are cultural differences in play. “The other 29 teams, they come at you right away, but to wait until the end, it just sort of tells you something”. Now, had he taken any more punches, it’s likely he would have been out for the count. We like our club.
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“It’s how he plays the game”. We try to play hard.
