Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano on Monday said that Houston Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron made a crude remark about his mother that prompted a benches-clearing incident on Sunday and Athletics manager Bob Melvin said he wants Cintron punished by Major League Baseball.
Laureano said that he regrets charging toward Houston’s dugout to fight Cintron after the two exchanged words during the seventh inning of their game in Oakland, California.
Speaking before a game against the Los Angeles Angels, Laureano said that Cintron began jawing at him when Laureano reacted angrily after being hit by a pitch from Houston rookie Humberto Castellanos.
Photo: AP
“I should have kept my cool because I wasted my time with that guy,” Laureano said. “Right now, I don’t look like a smart guy, but when you are emotional and someone says something about your mother, I don’t think anyone would take that lightly.”
“Whatever decision comes about a suspension, hopefully it is not as many games as people think,” he said.
Laureano and Cintron are expected to be suspended by MLB, but no announcement was made on Monday regarding punishment.
Houston manager Dusty Baker said he had a short meeting with his coaches to discuss the incident, but he declined to go into details about what he said to Cintron.
“He was remorseful, I’ll say that, that the whole thing happened,” said Baker, who was ejected earlier in the game and was not on the bench for the fracas. “And we hope it won’t happen again.”
Laureano was hit three times by Houston pitchers during the weekend series, including twice by Castellanos on breaking pitches. Laureano sarcastically motioned to Castellanos on how to properly throw his slider after Sunday’s plunking.
Laureano said he was not going to charge the mound and was trying to move on until he heard Cintron as he approached first base.
They exchanged words in Spanish, and Cintron emerged from the dugout and appeared to challenge Laureano to fight. Laureano threw off his helmet and sprinted toward Cintron, but was tackled by Astros catcher Dustin Garneau en route.
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