If there was a Hall of Fame of baseball quotes, this one might just make the inner circle.
“I regret charging him because he’s a loser.”
Those words by Oakland A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano (via Jeff Passan, ESPN) perfectly encapsulate his altercation with Houston Astros coach Alex Cintron on Sunday. There’s the regret, an acknowledgement that he shares some fault in the incident, followed immediately by a blunt assessment of his instigator, who is shaping up as the villain in the story in the eyes of the national public. The speaker doesn’t let himself off the hook, but he doesn’t mince words either.