A Baltimore Orioles colour commentator’s remarks during the TV broadcast of aÌýBlue Jays game went a little foul for many fans north of the border Friday night as he openly questioned the “baseball IQ of some Canadians” while on-air.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, É«É«À² outfielder Myles Straw was leading off on first base when Orioles pitcher Shawn Dubin quickly threw a pickoff attempt to first, eliciting jeers from the crowd.Ìý
In a ÌýReddit, Orioles play-by-play commentator Kevin BrownÌýpointed out that fans at the Rogers Centre didn’t sound too happy about the move.
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“It’s very silly to me, the people who boo the pickoff moves now, a pickoff move helps you with a disengagement. It’s like booing if a pitcher throws a ball,” he said.
In response, colour commentator and former Orioles second baseman Brian RobertsÌýexplained he had to be really careful with what he was about to say, before saying that “sometimes we had some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians here and there... At times it felt like maybe ... they knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball.”
Brown agreed with his on-air partner that he did need to be careful.Ìý
“Let’s shut down this conversation right here,” he said.Ìý
“We’re not on the air in Canada, are we?” Roberts joked, before his colleague reminded him of the existence of the internet.
It’s not uncommon for home team fans to boo pickoff attempts against their base runners.Ìý
“I’m 99.9 per cent certain fans of every team boo pickoff attempts, including Baltimore. Am I wrong?” one Reddit user wrote.Ìý
“No, you’re absolutely correct. Orioles fans do the same exact thing at Camden Yards. I have no idea what he was on about,” another responded.
The comments are the latest in a series of ongoing on-air barbs between the broadcast personalities of the American League East teams.Ìý
Blue Jays colour commentator and former manager Buck Martinez went viral online this week after he called out the rival New York Yankees during a broadcast on Tuesday.
“The Yankees, they’re not a good team. I don’t care what their record is,” he said. “They have a lot of wild pitches. They make a lot of mistakes in the field. They don’t run the bases very well.”
The Blue Jays beat the Orioles 6-1 and currently lead the American League. Meanwhile, Orioles are in last place in the AL East division.
Myles Straw doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the É«É«À² Blue Jays topped the Baltimore Orioles 6-1. (Sept. 13, 2025)
The Canadian Press
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