Remember when Jose Bautista flung his bat like a javelin last October? Yeah, so does Rougned Odor and the rest of the Texas Rangers.
Do you remember this, when Toronto Blue Jays slugger threw hit bat in the air like a flying javelin during last October’s playoff game against the Texas Rangers?
Well, these Rangers certainly remember it. Rougned Odor, the Rangers extremely talented second-baseman, most definitely remembers it.
Today, the two teams squared off in Texas, and pitcher Matt Bush sent a late game message by plunking the bat-flipping master with a 98 mph fastball.
With Bautista on first, he went in extremely late in attempt to break up a double-play. Odor didn’t appreciate it too much and was up to the challenge:
Glass Joe anybody?
For those who understand the rules in and around baseball, they’ll say Bautista got exactly what was coming to him. It’s one thing to feel excitement from hitting a huge postseason home run, but it’s another to toss the damn bat like it just became an Olympic sport.
Expect retaliation when you throw down the gauntlet.
And, to top it off, the slide was outrageous. Whether or not Bush intentionally hit Bautista we’ll never know. It would be an interesting spot to hit the guy, though (in the top of the eighth-inning).
In any event, the fallout from the brawl was significant:
As they say around these parts: “That’s baseball Suzyn.”