MLB Announcer Makes Wild Comment About Pitcher Killing Himself After Go-Ahead Homer
It's the Dog Days of Summer. Now, it's the end of them, thankfully. But, we are still in ‘em right now, which means the content ain’t exactly flowing like fine wine.
That's always true with baseball this time of year. Nobody quite cares about pennant races just yet because there are still a billion games to go. The days of McGwire vs. Sosa for the home run title are also long gone, and those used to carry us this time of year.
Remember those? The summer of '98 was just the best. God, this used to be such a great game. Now we get ghost runners on second base in the 10th inning. Awesome.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, baseball is boring right now, so I'd like to personally thank Cleveland Guardians (Indians) announcer Rick Manning for this wild little post-homer comment last night about pitcher Drew Smyly:
Cleveland Guardians predictably avoid the call
Insane! What a twist. Didn't see that coming at the end, did you?
Now, I laughed out loud at the comment, because – again – the sheer shock-factor of it was off the charts. Obviously, Rick Manning wasn't making an actual joke about suicide. I mean, come on. Of course he wasn't.
The guy was just caught up in the moment and, like all of us, was stunned by the absolute tank Smyly just gave up.
Can't blame him, if I'm being honest. That pitch was ass and that ball was hit to the moon. Sometimes, you can't control what you say when you see stuff like that. Ain't Rick's fault.
Of course, the Guardians (Indians) found a way to avoid Rick's call on their Twitter post by using the radio feed of the game, which literally no team ever does.
Yeah, I'm sure that's totally just coincidence!
Look, I'm not making light of the subject-matter here. It's a serious thing, and one, unfortunately, many people deal with in this world. I get it. It's awful.
But, funny is funny, and Rick Manning blurting out, "Oh, Smyly. He wants to kill himself," followed by an emphasis "he hung him a breaking ball" is funny. Sorry, just is.
Real tough few days for the MLB hot mics, though. Can't argue that.
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).