When taking a close look at the San Diego Padres, one could tell why opposing fanbases have such a hard time giving them their flowers. Some of their biggest names have been involved in numerous controversies during their MLB careers and even though they've learned and grown from them, certain people never forget.
We saw it most recently with a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run in AAA. El Niño was only trying to stick to his rehab and perform his best for El Paso but the pitcher that gave up the bomb took to Twitter and brought up every single one of his mistakes in the past couple of years.
Then, of course, everybody had something to say a few games ago when Manny Machado blew up on an umpire over a pitch clock violation and got ejected in the process.
It is situations like these that I believe make San Diego's signing of Rougned Odor so much more important. He's had nine seasons of MLB experience and even though he originally agreed to a minor league deal with the Friars, he made his presence felt in Spring Training and made the final roster.
But while his leadership and toughness are things the star should learn from here, it's also remarkable to see Odor willing to open up about his past.
Everybody remembers his fight against Jose Bautista and the Toronto Blue Jays. In fact, a few too many people remember it and Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune had an extended conversation with him about the past altercation.
"It was my first time seeing Odor turn a 5-4-3 double play live. And it reminded me of his infamous punch of Jose Bautista on May 15, 2016 when Bautista slid late and hard into Odor at second base after he received a throw from third baseman Adrian Beltre."
He said he still hears about the brawl multiple times a day in person and/or via social media. And he has yet to see the mural completed earlier this year at an Arlington, Texas, restaurant depicting the punch.
(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)
Considering how popular social media is now, certain clips will never go away and Odor's fight video seems to be one of those.
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