Rougned Odor says he respects Jose Bautista

After punching Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor says he respects Bautista.

The entire world is still buzzing about the brawl that occurred between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. By now, just about everyone has seen Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor do an impersonation of Mike Tyson by using a shove to set up a crushing blow to the face of Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista.

The bad blood from the teams carried over from the playoffs last year and it ultimately culminated in one of the most brutal brawls in the history of the game. While Bautista was very upset after the game as expected, the man who punched him carried a bit of a different tune.

Despite the fact that he landed a massive punch on Bautista that is going to get him suspended for a while, Odor told reporters that he respects Bautista, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

He’s not wrong about having respect for Bautista. Anyone who can take a punch like the one that he took and still stand has to have an incredible job. Now, had he taken any more punches, it’s likely he would have been out for the count. Still, Odor knows a worthy competitor when he sees one.

Odor also threw the punch because he was protecting himself. It’s hard to blame him there as things officially boiled over and others would have made the same decision.

There are going to be lots of suspensions handed down from the league and Odor will probably carry the heaviest of them all. However, it feels like this thing is finally over between the two sides and they don’t play each other again until next year or the postseason this year.

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