The Houston Astros know there will be targets on their backs going into the regular season following revelations that they were using cameras to steal signs from opposing pitchers during their 2017 World Championship season.
On Monday (February 24), some of the Astros' biggest stars who were implicated in the scheme, including Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and Yuli Gurriel, made their spring training debuts as the Astros traveled to Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida to play the Detroit Tigers. Tigers fans were brutal, booing the players and whenever the public address announcer said the word "Astros."
Altuve had a busy day at the plate. He struck out in the first inning, then quieted the boos with an RBI double in his next at-bat. In his final at-bat, a pitch from Tigers' reliever Nick Ramirez got away and clipped Altuve in the foot.
Altuve wasn't bothered by getting hit, even though it came after Ramirez gave up a home run to the previous batter.
"We were focused on playing baseball. We know that we need to go on the field and get ready and prepared for the coming season,'' Altuve said. "That's what we're thinking about right now.''
Astros manager Dusty Baker agreed and noted that it was evident that Ramirez was not trying to hit Altuve.
"He was hit in the foot. That ain't nothing, you know what I mean?'' Baker said after the game. "It wasn't intentional."
Two other Astros players were also hit by pitches in the late innings, but Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said that neither player was hit intentionally.