ARLINGTON, Texas – The ongoing strength of baseball’s conservative orthodoxy is such that Jose Bautista can enter the American League Division Series facing questions about why he is so hated, while the actions of a team that threw at him and a player that socked him receive no scrutiny whatsoever.
That’s messed up, and it’s why the game’s buttoned-up, holier-than-thou set continues to find ways to suppress young, joyful, exuberant players who, heaven forbid, choose to celebrate their accomplishments on the field.
Wait, they actually want to enjoy themselves? The audacity.
Bautista’s bat flip in Game 5 of last year’s series clincher against the Texas Rangers may be one of the post-season’s most electrifying moments in recent years. But it’s the ill feelings left in its wake and the subsequent brawl with the Toronto Blue Jays on May 15 that’s the prime backdrop to this fall’s rematch.
Rangers fans, who celebrate Rougned Odor’s clean punch to Bautista’s jaw the way Blue Jays fans revere Bautista’s home run, are sure to rain all sorts of venom down on the right-fielder when the series opens Thursday afternoon, and that makes sense.
Vilifying a rival’s top players is fair game for a fanbase.
On the other hand, it’s far different when Elvis Andrus says Wednesday that the Rangers didn’t like the bat flip and "we showed him that we didn’t like it," before adding, "That’s how you do it in baseball."
Essentially, the point he’s making is that sour grapes over some swag is a justification for vigilante justice. Awesome message, dude, good to know that’s how it is deep in the heart of Texas.
"They might have their reasons to dislike me if they choose to do that. I think I have a couple more reasons to dislike them," Bautista noted during a 10-minute session with media. "I’m not thinking about that, I’m not focused on that. I’m looking to beat them and move on to the next series."
The second part of his comment is boilerplate stuff, but it’s also true. The Blue Jays, you may remember, had a little ruckus with the Kansas City Royals last year during the regular season but it was all business when they met in the American League Championship Series.
The same should hold true when the Blue Jays-Rangers sequel plays out over the next week, since as the stakes rise, people tend to drop the nonsense and lock in on what matters.
"We’ve worked too hard to get to this point and we have our focus on one thing, get to the World Series and win it," said Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre. "I don’t think any guy in here is thinking about what happened the last time we faced Toronto. For us it’s in the past, and that’s where we’re going to leave it. We’re here and whatever comes our way we’re going to handle whatever comes."
Yet even as the Blue Jays get criticized for being too showy and flashy on the field – you could almost hear Orioles manager Buck Showalter tsk tsking at Marcus Stroman throughout Tuesday’s wild-card game – the Rangers somehow remain angelic stewards of the right way to play the game despite a warped outlook.
As Andrus noted, Odor’s attack on Bautista "started everything last time, but it was from a year ago, that we all as a team had that feeling. I don’t think it’s only him. We’re a team, and we’ll have his back."
Later Andrus added that he expects bad blood to resurface in the series, "and if it doesn’t happen, good, we’ll just play a clean game. But we’re all men in here. We know what can happen. … It’s easy to say right now that nothing’s going to happen, but when you’re playing, in the emotion of every inning, anything can happen."
Based on past Rangers precedent, among the things that can happen is Sam Dyson trying to start two brawls, or Matt Bush putting 97 off your ribs if you do something they don’t like, such as, for instance, beat them.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said he wouldn’t be surprised if Bautista had a big series and if he does, who knows where this thing goes.
"I play to help my team win ballgames. Whatever outcomes come out of that, I have to accept and deal with," said Bautista. "And no, I don’t think I take pride in being a hated guy. Absolutely not. I don’t think I’m a guy who does things purposely to get hated. If me helping my team win ballgames and me going about it the way I have to in order to be the best player I can be makes some people hate me, so be it."
Later he added, "I’m not looking for revenge, I’m looking to win ballgames. That’s entirely what my focus is on. Hopefully I get to keep it there."
The subtle inference there? Just play baseball, Texas Rangers, let what happens on the field do the talking and live with the results. May the best team win.