Rougned Odor Still Isn't Sorry

In the immediate aftermath of delivering what is perhaps the most iconic punch in baseball history, Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor was not sorry about slugging Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista in the jaw. What about now, though, after Odor’s served a seven-game suspension and had a few weeks to think things over? Nah, he’s still not sorry.

We know this because Odor gave a great interview to ESPN’s Marly Rivera. Please read it, and marvel at the number of opportunities Rivera gives Odor to present himself as chastened and repentant, only to have Odor stiff-arm her. Here’s my favorite interaction:

Has this incident given people the wrong impression of who you are?

Maybe. After what happened, people who don’t know baseball may have a bad impression of me, but people who know baseball do know that those things are a part of the game. Perhaps he was wrong, and perhaps I was also wrong.

When Odor’s baseball career is over, he could make a killing as a consultant for embattled politicians. “Do I regret taking those bribes? Maybe, but people who know politics know that those things are part of the game. Perhaps I was wrong to take the bribe, and perhaps they were wrong to give it to me.”

[ ESPN]