Later in the season, during a series with the Houston Astros, Ramirez had a physical altercation with elderly Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick. The two were arguing over McCormick's inability to fill Ramirez's large game-day request for 16 tickets to the game in Houston. Ramirez pushed the 64-year-old McCormick to the ground after telling him "Just do your job." The two were quickly separated and Ramirez later offered a public apology but did not apologize to McCormick in person until 2014. The matter was dealt with internally, and Ramirez was fined $10,000–15,000.