It all started with a bat flip. Back in October. In another country. But the Texas Rangers never forgot. And on Sunday, they did something about it.
Just in case you're one of the 11 remaining people who hasn't seen the video, Jose Bautista got hit by a pitch in the eighth inning of Sunday's game, and it certainly looked intentional. He then had a hard slide into second base while tying to break up a double play in a one-run game, and Rangers second baseman Roughned Odor took exception. Odor clocked Bautista right across the face with a punch a boxer would be proud of, setting off a benches-clearing melee that got six people ejected and at least that many suspended.
This fight was ridiculous on so many levels. First, the pitcher the Rangers appointed to do their dirty work was a rookie that wasn't even on the team during last year's Division Series. He had nothing to do with it. Second, this Bautista's last at bat in the last game of the year between the teams. Now this is going to be the lasting image that sticks with the Blue Jays until they meet again, whether that's in the playoffs or next season. So, instead of being over, the Rangers made sure it's going to keep going. It's like Baseball's version of Deflategate.
I'm not saying Bautista didn't have it coming. After the bat flip, he probably expected some sort of retaliation. But, logical thinking dictates that the retaliation would come in his first plate appearance in the first game. Everyone would've seen it coming, Bautista would've taken it, and the whole thing would've been over. Instead, they play six games without incident before finally taking their shot at him at the end of the seventh.
The timing doesn't make much sense. Did the Rangers forget until now? Or did they actually think that putting the tying run on base was a good idea? Or did they just want revenge against Bautista so much that they didn't care what the situation in the game was?
Odor said he "doesn't regret" anything. He also expects to be suspended, which he most definitely will be. I'm putting it in the range of 10 games. Plenty of others involved in the incident are going to get an MLB-mandated timeout, as well, but none of those suspensions will come anywhere near the length of Odor's. And they shouldn't. Because, if you think about it, it wasn't the hit by pitch that started things. It was Odor.
That's why I think it's so ridiculous people are defending Odor. They're using crazy reasons such as "he was defending himself," but he's the whole reason the fight started, so I don't see how you can justify anything Odor did. Bautista was the one who got hit. Bautista was the one trying to break up a double play. Was the slide late? Maybe. But we're not talking about the Chase Utley Rule here. The only chance Odor was going to get hurt on that play was if Bautista body-slammed him after the haymaker.
Bautista's not blameless in this situation. If he doesn't crush a home run that just landed in Winnipeg and stand there looking at it, then toss his bat aside like David Ortiz does all the time, none of this happens. But it's a stretch to any fault for Sunday's fight anywhere but the Texas Rangers dugout.
Yes, the Rangers got even with Bautista. But Odor better watch his back. Because now it's the Blue Jays that have a score to settle. Why? Because the Rangers couldn't just hit him right away and be done with.
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