When Rougned Odor was asked why he punched Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, the 22-year-old said it was a matter of self-defence.
“I think you saw what happened yesterday,” Odor told the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Jeff Wilson. “For me, I think it was a pretty hard slide, but you saw what happened. I knew he was going to come hard. I can tell when somebody is coming hard to second base, so I was just trying to protect myself.”
Odor also took exception to the way Bautista was sizing him up after he slid into him.
“I saw him standing there after the slide,” Odor explained. “He was looking at me. I was like, ‘What’s up?’ He was close to me. I had to step back a little bit, and that’s what I did.”
The Rangers second baseman told reporters Monday that despite the drama, it’s all water under the bridge, and he actually “respects” Bautista and any animosity between the two teams should be over with.
Seeing as he was the one to land the biggest punch in Sunday’s dust-up, and the fact that Toronto and Texas won’t see each other again this year unless they meet in the playoffs, Odor’s line of thinking is understandable.
There’s been no word regarding punishment on either side in the aftermath of the brawl, but Odor is expecting to be suspended, something he says he will accept because he doesn’t regret what he did.
