The Houston Astros have found themselves in the midst of another controversy. But there’s no stolen signals this time. Rather, miscommunication about signals might have been the cause.
During a game on Tuesday, Sept. 2, Astros’ left-hander Framber Valdez allegedly intentionally threw an uncalled pitch at catcher Cesar Salazar, which wound up pelting Salazar in the chest.
The miscommunication in question came after Salazar asked Valdez to step off the mound after the pair could not agree on a pitch to throw to Trent Grisham. Valdez did not step off though, and Grisham wound up hitting a grand slam to give the New York Yankees a 6-0 lead. Just two pitches after the home run, Valdez pegged his catcher.
Although both Salazar and Valdez told reporters that the incident was unintentional after the game, Salazar’s reaction to the errant pitch had many fans believing it was foul play on Valdez’s end. After taking a 93 mph sinker to the chest, Salazar looked back at Valdez with disapproving eyes, while Valdez stared him down with little emotion.
Here’s what we know about the incident:
Valdez’s agent defends him
On Wednesday morning, Framber Valdez’s agent, Ulises Cabrera, told the Houston Chronicle that any assumption that Valdez hit Salazar on purpose was ‘preposterous’ and ‘a complete lack of respect for who he is as a person.’
‘There’s no questioning what Framber is and what he represents to the team and his thought process on the team,’ Cabrera added. ‘The idea that he’s intentionally trying to injure one of his teammates is preposterous. Anything to the contrary is just completely misguided and it’s not right.’
Did Valdez apologize to Salazar?
Following the game on Tuesday, Valdez told reporters that he had apologized to Salazar after the mix-up, claiming it was merely a result of him getting ‘crossed up.’
Astros’ executives give their thoughts
On Wednesday morning, Astros GM Dana Brown took to the radio waves to clear the air, claiming that it likely came as a result of frustration after Valdez gave up the grand slam to Grisham. Brown claimed, ‘Sometimes you get so angry you can’t see straight. And he crossed him up. They had a conversation after the game, and they squashed it.’
Team manager Joe Espada also gave his thoughts, claiming that most of the assumptions regarding the incident are merely false speculations. He said, ‘A lot of that stuff is not true. But I understand the environment and what comes with it. I appreciate if we could just get past this and go back to just baseball.’
When do the Astros play next?
The Astros continue their series with the Yankees on Wednesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET. The Astros (76-63) are currently in position to reach the MLB playoffs, sitting three games ahead of the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West.