© Stan Szeto | 2020 Aug 9
We now have some more context to the wild brawl between the A’s and Astros on Sunday. A’s left fielder Ramon Laureano claims that it wasn’t just a gesture by Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron that caused him to charge the Houston dugout, but a comment “said in Spanish something you don’t say about my mother,” Laureano told ESPN.
Cintron has denied the accusation, but would not disclose what he said. Cintron could be seen on video stepping out of the dugout while yelling at Laureano, which served as the tipping point for Laureano to charge. Cintron stood behind other members of the Astros once the fight broke out.
“Every day I wake up with the motivation to be with them,” Laureano said of his parents to ESPN. “They sacrificed their life for me. They made the tough decision to let their own kid go to the States by himself and follow his own dreams. I’ve been away from my family for 10 years. It’s tough to be away from them. Any chance I have to be with them, I feel like I’m in heaven. So for him to say that to me about my mom, it doesn’t sit well. I’ve got a fire inside me right away in that second.”
“I regret charging him because he’s a loser,” Laureano continued regarding Cintron. “[A suspension] is understandable, but I hope it’s not that many games.
The league has yet to hand down suspensions, but it is assumed that Cintron’s will be lengthier than Laureano’s considering his position as a coach.