Nearly a week has passed since Rougned Odor became more known for his right cross to Jose Bautista’s jaw and slides into second base last season than for his seven home runs in 2016 and the fact that he’s playing like an American League All-Star.
Take a look at the second basemen around the league. Odor, despite his strong start, might not even be in the top five. Jose Altuve is a shoo-in, and so is Robinson Cano. Ian Kinsler is making a strong case. Dustin Pedroia is having a rebound season. Jason Kipnis might have an edge on Odor, too.
Maybe Odor will gain in the fan vote. The little guy taking on the big, bearded slugger. There are probably a lot of people who have wanted to do what Odor did, pop the guy acting all tough and acting like he’s better than everyone else.
That photo and video clip aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
But the players’ vote also comes into play when picking an All-Star team, and that’s where Odor has a shot. His shot to Bautista has made him a rock star among his peers.
Imagine that: Odor a first time All-Star for the Texas Rangers, sharing the same clubhouse as Bautista.
It might get a little lonely for what would be the Toronto Blue Jays’ seventh All-Star Game.
One AL player has offered to buy Odor an expensive bottle of scotch for his punch. Another AL player simply said via text that “Odor’s the man.” Yet another said that Odor was one of his least favorite players, but because of the punch, “everything changed. New favorite player.”
But it’s not that Odor punched somebody that is being condoned. It’s who he punched.
Bautista is about as popular as Nickelback. If he’s not the most hated among his peers, he’s just behind Alex Rodriguez, who learned how popular he is last year when the players kept him off the All-Star team despite a big first half.
A-Rod, of course, has been caught cheating the game. He’s admitted to it. He sued the players association. Through it all, he remained smug. No wonder he’s so unpopular.
Bautista’s smugness similarly rubs players the wrong way. Everything is about him. There was a time in Bautista’s career when he was barely hanging on in the majors, but he has forgotten his humble beginnings.
The Game 5 bat flip is an example. Had it been a walk-off, the Rangers wouldn’t have been as peeved. Had it clinched the AL pennant or the World Series, they also wouldn’t have been as ticked. But it was in the seventh inning of the ALDS, when it was still completely possible for the Rangers to win the game.
The Rangers didn’t like it, obviously, but the fact that it was Bautista made it worse.
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