A Rare Player vs. Hitting Coach Fight Breaks Out During A’s-Astros

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FIGHT! 2020 has struck again and this time we have a player vs. opposing bench coach bench-clearing brawl during a pandemic. Somewhere Rob Manfred was screaming ‘NOOOOO’ at his TCL 65-incher as Ramon Laureano and Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron barked at each other and then got into a feud.

Laureano appeared ready to risk it all, but as you can see in the video, Cintron had three Stros players come to his defense as it hit the fan. Alex can’t be barking like that and then look like he’s in an NBA fight with the starting frontline protecting him. Be a man and step up to have a corona-off with Laureano.

As for what started this, Laureano had just taken his second hit-by-pitch of the game and was fed up. The bad news here for Laureano is that we know MLB will now go into full protection mode for Cintron. It’ll be like Laureano put a mob hit out on Cintron and he’ll get a 10-game suspension.

I’m sure you’re wanting to know if Cintron had a part in the Astros trashcan banging scandal. Let’s go back to a February report on Cintron’s role in all this.

And an email from Houston’s Tom Koch-Weser (director of advanced information) to then-GM Jeff Luhnow in May of 2017 shows that Cora and Beltran merely helped advance a process that had begun before they arrived.

“I don’t want to electronically correspond too much about ‘the system’ but Cora/[Alex]Cintron/Beltran have been driving a culture initiated by Bregman/[Derek]Vigoa last year and I think it’s working,” Kock-Weser wrote to Luhnow. “I have no proof that it has worked, but we get real good dope on pitchers tipping and being lazy. That information, if it’s not already, will eventually yield major results in our favor once players get used to the implementation.”

Cintron was an assistant coach in 2017 and is currently the team’s hitting coach. The email from Koch-Weser to Luhnow named Cintron as part of “driving a culture” in the sign-stealing operation, yet he was not mentioned in Manfred’s report.

Written by Joe Kinsey

Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America.

Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league.

Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.

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  1. Manfred will make an example out of Laureano. It does make me wonder though…what happens if a player jumps into the stands and attacks a fake cardboard fan? That might be the most memorable thing to happen in this entire 2020 season.

  3. I’ve gotta say, the last thing I thought when I saw that was, “Oh wow, they’re not social distancing! Someone is going to catch the ‘rona and die!”

    And if you did think that, you’re an easily manipulated pussy.

  5. Astros have to get that “BAD BOY” mentality and say screw everyone. They must instill that “It’s us against the world” into their mindset.

    People including those in the media are hypocrites. They ignore the repeated acts of the Red Sox and the Yankees and never label them as cheaters or speak ill of them, but everyone want to act what the Astros did is the most horrendous act ever committed by man.

    Dusty Baker is the right man for that team. If you come after us, just remember that the opposing team have to also step in the batters box.

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