Texas Ranger Rougned Odor landed quite a few punches on the Toronto Blue Jay's right fielder Jose Bautista during yesterday’s game at Globe Life Park.
Bautista took a hard slide into second base and caught the end of Odor’s fist when he got back to his feet. A fight between the two ensued and players from both teams began rushing the field. “I was pretty surprised,” said Bautista to ESPN. “I mean, obviously, that’s the only reason he got me, and he got me pretty good, so I have to give him that. It takes a little bit bigger man to knock me down. Bautista was hit by a pitch from Matt Bush earlier in the game and took the hard slide as retribution. “I had a hard slide at second base. I could have injured [Odor, but] I chose not to,” continued Bautista. “I tried to send a message that I didn’t appreciate getting hit [by the pitch].” The two were ejected from the game after the brawl along with Toronto third baseman Josh Donaldson and Texas bench coach Steve Buechele.
The brawl caused a stir throughout the MLB, and teammates along with players from other teams wasted no time before airing out their grievances on Twitter over the behavior of the two men. “Zero respect for Odor. Never had respect for him, never will,” wrote Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman. Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy made light of the situation. “Was Bautista winding up to tickle him?,” he tweeted. Former outfielder Jose Canseco aimed his vitriol towards Odor. “What a cheap shot by batista by odor..batista should break that punk in half. he should beat his ass prison style…week sucker punch,” he wrote. Former utility player Elliot Johnson cited Bautista’s infamous bat flip after hitting a three run homer in game 5 of ADLS last year as the reason for the altercation. “Played w/Odor, spoken with Joey Bats plenty, this had more to do with the bat flip last year than the slide. Joey Bats is not in the wrong,” tweeted Johnson.
Source: youtube.com
