OAKLAND, Calif. — Rougned Odor, the Texas Rangers’ lightning-rod second baseman, said Monday that he will not change.
The Rangers do not want Odor to change. They want the same fiery and edgy player, no matter the resolution of his imbroglio on Sunday with Toronto’s Jose Bautista.
Odor remained in the lineup for the series opener against Oakland at The Coliseum. He expects to receive a multi-game suspension for his actions.
Odor also said that although he respects Bautista, he has no regrets for rocking him with a right.
“It’s part of the game,” Odor said in his first public comments on the episode.
Joe Garagiola Jr., senior vice president for standards and on-field operations, handles disciplinary matters for Major League Baseball. Garagiola will review the report from crew chief umpire Dale Scott and consider other information before making a decision.
Since replacing Joe Torre as the czar of discipline in 2011, Garagiola has suspended a total of 14 position players for participating in on-the-field altercations. The suspensions ranged from one to eight games.
Whatever Garagiola’s decision, manager Jeff Banister will not tell Odor to make nice with opponents.
“Does he need to walk a fine line?” Banister said. “What do we want to do: take his personality and passion away from him, and now he’s not the same player?
“It’s how he plays the game. He plays it hard. He does things to help his team win games. That’s the bottom line.”
Banister prizes passion in a player almost as much talent, more in some cases. He wants a team that plays with a fury and does not back down.
That’s what happened with Odor and Bautista.
Odor said he expected Bautista to come into the base hard on a force play. It was his payback to being hit in the elbow and ribs with a pitch from Matt Bush.
“I can tell when somebody is coming hard to second base,” Odor said. “I just tried to protect myself.”
As Odor untangled himself after the slide, he sensed a menacing presence from Bautista.
“He was standing there after the slide, looking at me,” Odor said. “He was close to me. I said ‘What’s this?’”
The punch that launched a million web hits followed. Odor said he ignored the furor, including some pointed comments that he is a “dirty” player. In the past, he has irritated Houston, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers with hard slides.
“I don’t hear nothing,” Odor said. “I don’t pay attention to what they say. I just care about my team. I don’t care about the other teams. I play the game how I play it. Play the game to win.”
Banister defended his player, saying there is nothing wrong with Odor’s playing style. Banister would like to see every player on every club perform with the same verve.
“I’m not going to criticize a player for playing hard,” Banister said. “I’m not going to criticize anybody for any of those situations on our side or their side. Things happen during those situations that are ugly. They look bad. It’s not good for anybody.”
That particularly applies to the Rangers, if Odor is suspended. A team cannot replace a player suspended for an on-the-field violation.
A suspension is held in abeyance until a player waives or exhausts his right to an appeal. John McHale, MLB’s chief information officer and executive vice president of administration, hears appeals.
The Rangers have contingency plans should Odor serve a suspension. The easiest move would be to promote middle infielder Jurickson Profar from Triple-A Round Rock and use him or Hanser Alberto at second.
Until the disciplinary issues plays out, Odor is the Rangers’ second baseman. Odor believes the issue with Toronto has been settled, but he and the Rangers have to deal with the fallout.
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