What did Hector Neris say to Julio Rodriguez?

Hector Neris, a baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros was involved in an altercation with Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners.

The altercation happened on Wednesday September 27 2023. Neris charged and yelled at Rodriguez after striking him out during the Mariners’ 8-3 triumph at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday.

Neris allegedly hurled an anti-gay slur in Spanish, according to Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez. Rodrguez declined to comment on what he heard Neris say on Thursday.

“I’ve never said those words,” Neris said on Friday through an interpreter. “I was just as surprised as you guys hearing that report when it came out.”

“Maybe it’s one of those things that was taken out of context. Maybe I should have smiled at the end of it. It looked wrong, obviously, me charging at him.”

“I didn’t say anything else other than what I just said, other than saying cono.” Asked what cono means, Astros Spanish language interpreter Jenloy Herrera responded “like f—. F—ing hit.”

“The only thing I really told him was ‘Hit, hit’ and then I said cono to him,” Neris said, according to Herrera.

Neris stated that he has spoken with “a lot of people” since Wednesday’s event, but he did not specify whether MLB officials have contacted him personally.

According to a source, the league began investigating the incident on Thursday. Astros manager Dusty Baker stated that the organization has yet to learn whether Neris will face disciplinary action.

“I don’t think I did anything that would be a violation of any of the rules or requiring disciplinary action from MLB,” Neris said. “It wasn’t anything personal and I don’t think anything that broke rules.”

On Thursday afternoon, Neris issued a statement apologizing to Rodríguez, Rodríguez’s family and the Mariners organization for his actions, but called any accusations that he used a homophobic slur “simply incorrect.”