Padres Infielder's Bad Decision Still Haunts Him 7 Years Later

The punch that was heard around the baseball world

Padres infielder Rougned Odor has gotten some limited time in the 2023 season. Odor has only played in 11 games so far, and he hasn't been playing some good baseball when he's out there. This is his first season in San Diego, while he's spent most of his time as a member of the Texas Rangers. Odor is in his 10th year in the league, spending eight seasons as a Ranger. 

The 29-year-old had a ton of playing time in Texas and was quite solid for them; however, his best season came in 2016 when he had career-highs across the board and had his most infamous moment as a pro that season. 

In a matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays, Odor and Blue Jays star Jose Bautista got into a fight that resulted in one of baseball's biggest brawls. In it, Odor connected on a right hook to Bautista's face, and that remains one of the most viewed and iconic sports fights in history. The seventh anniversary took place on May 15, and Padres insider Jeff Sander brought up the anniversary to Odor and said he couldn't forget about it even if he tried. 

“It’s everywhere right now,” Odor said with a laugh. “Everybody is texting it to me. It’s crazy.”He added: “It’s in the past. I’d like to forget about it.” But he can’t today. “No chance,” he said. “It’s everywhere.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

The cause of the brawl came due to the slide that Baustista made into second base. It was a late slide that took out Odor; he expressed that he didn't like it, and that's when the punch was thrown, and the benches were cleared. 

The punch heard around the baseball world remains iconic, and unfortunately, is why Odor is so well-known in the game.