The Houston Astros are back in the spotlight, and not for the reasons they’d prefer.
On Tuesday night, left-hander Framber Valdez found himself at the center of a bizarre and unsettling scene when he appeared to intentionally hit his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, with a 93 mph sinker just moments after giving up a grand slam to Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham.
The sequence unfolded after a clear miscommunication on the mound. Salazar reportedly asked Valdez to step off when the two couldn’t agree on a pitch call. Valdez didn’t step off, Grisham teed off, and suddenly the Yankees were up 6-0. Two pitches later, Salazar took a fastball square to the chest. His reaction — a long, sharp look back at Valdez — set social media ablaze with speculation that the pitch wasn’t an accident.
Both Players Claim No Wrong Doing
Both men denied foul play afterward. Valdez insisted he simply got “crossed up,” while Salazar tried to downplay the incident. Fans weren’t buying it though, noting Valdez’s icy stare after the beaning and Salazar’s clear frustration as he picked himself up.
By Wednesday morning, the fallout was in full swing. Valdez’s agent, Ulises Cabrera, blasted the idea that his client would intentionally injure a teammate, calling it “preposterous” and “a complete lack of respect.” Cabrera insisted Valdez’s reputation speaks for itself.
The tone was more measured inside the Astros’ front office. General manager Dana Brown admitted the grand slam may have rattled Valdez and “so angry he couldn’t see straight.” Still, he stressed the pitcher and catcher had talked it out postgame. “They squashed it,” Brown said.
Manager Joe Espada also stepped in, urging fans and media alike to “get past this and go back to just baseball,” while dismissing most of the speculation swirling online.
