If you don't know by now, there was a bizarre incident that happened in Tuesday's game between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, where Astros' starter Framber Valdez appeared to have purposefully thrown the wrong pitch in an attempt to get a point across to young catcher Cesar Salazar.
A little background on the incident was that Yankees' slugger Trent Grisham hit a Grand Slam right before the potential "cross-up", and Valdez appeared to have been upset in the moment.
Framber did not have his best outing, giving up six runs in five innings, and following the game, he cleared the air on what happened with him and Salazar.
Joe Espada had a meeting with both Framber Valdez and Cesar Salazar
In an attempt to clear the air and make sure there is no underlying beef between Valdez and the young catcher, manager Joe Espada pulled them into his office following Tuesday's game, and afterward, Valdez said through his interpreter that he apologized to Salazar.
"We just got crossed up," Valdez told reporters through the team's translator. "I called for that pitch, I threw it and we got crossed up. When we went down to the dugout I excused myself with him and I said sorry to him. And I take full responsibility for that."
This incident could have just been a classic cross-up since those happen from time to time. But it was the reaction of the pitcher and catcher that caught the attention of everyone, making it seem like something else had happened besides a simple mistake.
Another level to this drama is the idea that Salazar held back what he truly thought following the game to cover up Valdez's image. In the video of the cross-up, Framber appears to cold shoulder the catcher after rifling in a fastball that hit him right in the stomach area.
Salazar was caught off guard, but he's also not super familiar with Valdez and his pitching style. If another catcher had been behind the plate, this incident likely wouldn't happen.