It was absolutely ridiculous.
I am sure by now most of you have heard of a certain situation that occurred in Arlington, Texas on May 15 that has me absolutely appalled.
In the eighth inning of the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers game Rangers rookie Matt Bush hit Blue Jays Star Jose Bautista is a fastball in the ribs on the first pitch.
Bush is a 30-year-old who was drafted first overall as a shortstop in 2004 and played in a game higher than AA before being arrested in 2012 serving 39 months in jail for a drunk driving incident that saw him run over a 72-year-old man.
Bush was signed by the Rangers in December of 2015 two months after being released from jail.
Why is that significant? Because the reason that Bautista was hit by a pitch during the game was because of an incident that happened in October of 2015, right around the time Bush was being released from jail and two months before he would sign with the Rangers.
All Jays fans remember that fateful night on Oct. 14, 2015 when Bautista launched a three run homerun into the bleachers and proceeded to launch his bat in the “bat flip heard ‘round the world.”
The flip incited the Rangers so fast forward seven months and one day later and the Rangers got their revenge, in Bautista’s last at bat of the season against the Rangers, in the teams’ seventh game against each other, by a pitcher who was not even on a Major League roster at the time of the incident.
This of course incited Bautista so sure enough not long later a ground ball went to the second baseman who was looking to turn a double play so what does Bautista do? He slides right at the fielder looking to take out his legs, of course inciting his opponent, Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor, who shoves Bautista when Bautista gets up and then lands a thunderous punch to the chin of Bautista.
The benches clear and a brawl breaks out. There are players going wild on both teams and after several minutes the teams are broken apart, players are ejected and the game resumes.
In the bottom half of the inning Blue Jays pitcher hit Rangers star Prince Fielder with a first pitch fastball.
Surprise surprise.
What happens next? Of course the benches clear again.
The whole situation was ridiculous.
The Rangers were furious with Bautista for breaking the unwritten rules of baseball when he disrespectfully flipped his bat. Fine. That happens all the time in baseball.
If you want revenge and are looking to hit Bautista with a pitch, fine that also is part of those ridiculous unwritten rules.
I do not agree with them and I think they need to be scrapped but it is what it is.
The part I have a real problem with is how the whole situation played out.
The Rangers should have gotten their revenge by letting Sam Dyson, the pitcher on the mound when Bautista flipped his bat, hit him with a pitch in their first game against each other earlier this season.
Instead the Rangers waited and waited until the eighth inning of the seventh and final game between them on the season.
To make matters worse it was a rookie who was not even playing baseball at the time that Bautista pimped his homerun.
That was the part that incited the Jays and Bautista specifically they waited until the season series was over and sent a rookie out there to do it.
If Dyson hits Bautista in the first game between the two this season the issue is probably over. Both teams move on. Instead we saw multiple ejections, punches thrown, and two benches clearing brawls.
The important thing to remember is everyone involved in the situation was wrong.
The Rangers for hitting Bautista, Bautista for sliding in a dangerous manner towards Odor, especially the season after the rule was changed to prohibit slides like that one to avoid serious injury, like we saw on a couple of occasions last season, and of course Odor for cracking Bautista in the jaw.
This is not the first time Odor has thrown punches on the baseball diamond either.
In 2011, while playing for the Spokane Indians, an A level affiliate for the Texas Rangers, Odor threw punches to at least two different members of the Vancouver Canadians after he was upset because he thought he was intentionally bumped in to by the Canadians second baseman after Odor made a late slide similar to Bautista’s.
He was suspended five games for his actions.
Both Bautista and Odor deserve suspensions and they should not be the short 1-3 gamers either.
They need to have some length to them to set a precedent that these kind of actions will not be tolerated.
Bautista should be looking at a fair length suspension for breaking a new rule put in place to protect the safety of the players.
Odor should be nailed even more harshly more so because he does have a prior history of quite literally brawling on the baseball diamond.
Blue Jays Manager, John Gibbons, should also be looking at a suspension since we was previously ejected from the baseball game but returned to the field during the brawl.
These actions should not be tolerated and it will be interesting to see what Major League Baseball’s Chief Baseball Officer. Joe Torre, decides are appropriate punishments for everyone involved on May 17 when he is expected to hand out the suspensions and fines.
It is time we get rid of these ridiculous unwritten rules of baseball. If a player pimps a homerun, then strike him out the next time and celebrate back. Do not look to hurt players by hitting them with the baseball.
What kind of an example are we setting to the young up and coming baseball players of tomorrow if they see you brawling in the infield of a Major League Baseball Stadium?
Set a good example. It is time we end this nonsense once and for all.
