Ramon Laureano lost his cool after being hit by a pitch on Sunday and charged after the Houston Astros’ dugout, and the Oakland Athletics outfielder has confirmed that a derogatory comment about his mother is what set him off.
Laureano was hit by a pitch for the second time in the 7th inning, and he abruptly charged at the Astros dugout on his way to first base. Baseball writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz reported after the game that Laureano was enraged after Houston bench coach Alex Cintron made a vile remark about his mother, which Ortiz referred to as “fighting words” in Latino culture. Laureano shared more details of the exchange with ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Monday.
Laureano said he first made a motion toward A’s pitcher Humberto Castellanos telling him how to properly snap off a slider. That prompted Cintron to shout an expletive at Laureano, and Laureano says he responded with one of his own. Laureano says Cintron then “said in Spanish something you don’t say about my mother.”
“I regret charging him because he’s a loser,” Laureano said. “[A suspension] is understandable, but I hope it’s not that many games.”
Laureano insists he held no ill will toward the Astros over their sign-stealing scandal, but he says his parents are responsible for his MLB career and he has a very close relationship with them.
“Every day I wake up with the motivation to be with them,” Laureano told Passan. “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.”
While Laureano will likely be suspended, Cintron should face disciplinary action as well. It may have been a matter of time before tempers boiled over with the way the series began, but Cintron escalated the situation. Multiple fines and suspensions could be forthcoming.
