Forget the fact for a moment that he wasn’t even born in the United States, Texas Rangers second baseman Roygned Odor became an American hero by delivering what very well could be the greatest punch to the face (specifically the face of Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista) in the history of professional baseball. I mean, just look at it. Here’s a different angle.
The extension, the connection, the flailing of Jose Bautista’s hat and sunglesses, lifted from his very face by the force of Odor’s knuckles connecting with his jawbone. It’s a work of art. This should be reproduced by a master, captured forever in oils or clay or carved from a pristine piece of marble. By God it’s beautiful.
Odor came from humble beginnings. He signed with the Rangers as a free agent in 2011 and battled his way through the minor league system over the next few seasons. A poor kid from Maracaibo, Venezuela, he won the veritable lottery, nabbing a $425,000 signing bonus to join the Texas farm system. He mad his major league debut May 8, 2014 and bounced between the Rangers and the Triple-A Round Rock Express and all that happened, perfectly and precisely as if ordained by the universe, in order for us to enjoy this perfect moment of punch.
The wonderful thing about Odor is this isn’t the first brawl where he’s served up his signature knuckle sandwich. Back in 2011 playing with the Class-A short-season Spokane Indians he was suspended for four games for starting a brawl against the Vancouver Canadians. This is who he is, a man with a passion for pugilism. God bless him.
Sunday, on the way to a 7-6 Rangers win over the Toronto Blue Jays, Bautista took a hard slide at Odor’s legs in the top of the eighth inning in order to break up a potential double play. Odor didn’t care for the slide and players from both teams rushed the field. That’s when the punch heard round the world careened off Bautista’s finely manicured beard and into baseball history.
When you try to slide in the wrong DMs https://t.co/RARDRxLaLl
— Mitch E ⚾️ (@BaseballRealest) May 17, 2016
It took about 10 minutes for the umpires to clear the field and get everything calmed down. It didn’t last as Blue Jays relief pitcher Jesse Chavez hit Texas’ Prince Fielder with a pitch right after play resumed, causing the benches to clear again. There was no punch of epic proportions thrown that time. That is a once in a generation event.
Both Bautista and Odor were ejected after the best punch in the history of baseball and Odor is now sitting on a $5,000 fine and an eight-game suspension, which he is planning to appeal. He shouldn’t. He should take his eight days of rest and relaxation and enjoy it. That fine just amounts to $1,000 per knuckle raked across Bautista’s teeth. Surely it’s worth every penny.
The punch might just resonate more with the Blue Jays, not just because Bautista may need to touch up his cartel beard. Toronto manager Joe Gibbons had been ejected earlier in the game and returned to the field during the brawl. That will cost him three more games in a suspension of his own. The Rangers lost a bench coach to an ejection, Steve Buechele, and the Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson got tossed too. There’s no word on if Major League Baseball will take any further action against him. Bautista got a one-game suspension. I guess for taking the punch like a champ.
“I can tell when somebody is coming hard to second base,” Odor told reporters after the game. “I just tried to protect myself. … He was standing there after the slide looking at me. He was close to me. I said, ‘what is this?'”
The Odor showed him exactly what it was.
https://vine.co/v/i0AgZlm5w9t
“I was pretty surprised,” Bautista said after receiving the greatest face massage in the history of America’s pastime. “I mean, obviously that’s the only reason he got me and he got me pretty good, so I have to give him that. It takes a little bit bigger man to knock me down.”
There’s no word on the Hall of Fame asking specifically to get a bronze caste of Odor’s right hand, but I should think the call should be coming any day.
