Oakland A’s La Russa Trades Words With Fan

Oakland A’s manager Tony La Russa got involved in some unusual pregame activity Thursday night when he exchanged angry words with a spectator at Memorial Stadium.

Chris Watson, 23, of Towson, Md., said La Russa challenged him to a fight. Watson listed his vital information as 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds; La Russa, 45, is 6-1 and 190 pounds.

Asked if he had challenged Watson to a fight, La Russa said, “I don’t have any comment.” He paused before adding, “He made an uncalled-for family reference.”

The incident occurred during Oakland’s batting practice, about an hour before the start of the A’s-Orioles game. Watson was sitting with two friends in the seats alongside the first-base line when La Russa walked past with a baseball bat in hand.

Watson initiated the exchange by shouting a comment about La Russa’s wife. After a brief, loud conversation that caught the attention of nearby spectators, La Russa knocked over Watson’s beer--which had been sitting atop the tarpaulin--with the handle of his bat.

“I told him, ‘I hear you have a good-looking wife,’ ” Watson said. “He said, ‘Do you have a problem with my wife?’ Then he said, ‘Why don’t you step out of the bleachers, and we’ll see what kind of problem you’ve got.’

“He offered to fight me after the game. He told me to meet him by the bus on the third-base side, and he said he’d be there.

“That old man thinks he’s going to kick my ass? Look at me. He won’t kick my ass. If he hits me, I’ll take his paycheck for the year.”