Banister said that the Rangers had had success against Bautista during the series and that they didn’t want to put the potential tying run on base in a 7-6 game.
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The recent Texas Rangers brawl could be considered as one of the greatest brawls in Major League Baseball history.
And Odor, who didn’t talk after landing the punch Sunday, said Monday that while “I know I’m going to be suspended for a couple of games, ” he also seemed to suggest it was all in a day’s work.
“It’s part of the game”, he said.
The Rangers already were still mad at Bautista, which reached back on a hit by pitch, for flipping his bat during his big home run in last year’s American League wild card game, which Toronto won. He was then punched by Texas’ Rougned Odor in the seventh inning after Bautista’s hard slide into the second baseman was deemed illegal.
Rougned Odor has no regrets after the rivalry between the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays boiled over into a brawl Sunday.
Odor took exception and shoved Bautista before punching him in the face with a right hook.
On the altercation around second base, after Bautista’s hard slide prompted words between them: “I think it’s over”.
“I don’t see it going away, I don’t see it getting any better”, Headley said. “I can tell when somebody’s coming hard to second base”. I just care about my team.
Players from both sides of the field rushed to the field, and Odor and Bautista were ejected from the game along with Toronto’s Josh Donaldson and Texas bench coach Steve Buechele. Jesse Chavez hit Prince Fielder on the right thigh with the next pitch, causing the ejections of the reliever and another coach. He also said he respects Bautista. “I mean, obviously, that’s the only reason that he got me and he got me pretty good, so I have to give him that. I had to step back a little bit, and that’s what I did”.
A’s manager Bob Melvin, who has seen the inside of a brawl or two in his time, didn’t have much to say about the fight other than that the two combatants “looked pretty spirited”. And manager Jeff Banister came to his defense, arguing that Odor is taking the majority of the blame for an incident he did not start. I could have injured him (Odor). Basically, I looked at it like you’re showing up the other team. “I’m still waiting”, he said.
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“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”. If anything ever happened without being aware or (the MLB) warning people … you’re gonna be penalized if you do something like that and somebody all of a sudden ends their career, we’d never forgive ourselves.
