After taking a small step forward in 2022, the Baltimore Orioles are reaping the benefits of its complete (and long) rebuild this year. They’re one of baseball’s best teams with an exciting roster full of young players. Ownership didn’t like one of their broadcasters literally doing his job, and now everyone is coming after them. That includes Mets Hall of Famers Gary Cohen and Howie Rose.
In case you missed what happened, Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown hasn’t been on any O’s broadcasts recently. Awful Announcing reported he was suspended because of the following segment:
Here's the clip of Kevin Brown's pregame comments on the Orioles' recent record against the Rays ahead of a series finale on July 23. Sources tell AA these comments led to Brown's current indefinite suspension from Orioles' broadcasts. pic.twitter.com/csURU04fJU
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 7, 2023
Yea, there was nothing wrong with that, right? The man was literally doing his job. Even more so, he was discussing how much of a step forward Baltimore has taken. The stats from this segment were listed in the Rays-Orioles game notes.
As you can imagine, this has made a lot of people very angry — broadcasters in particular. While sitting through a Mets rain delay on Monday night, Howie Rose reacted to this news on Twitter:
The Baltimore Orioles should be ashamed of themselves. One of the best stories of the year on the field and they suspend one of the best young announcers in the game for this? The producer had to approve the graphic anyway. Kevin will be a star, probably in another team’s booth. https://t.co/OXY1lJmYNR
— Howie Rose (@HowieRose) August 8, 2023
SNY’s Gary Cohen also went in on the Orioles and their apparent decision to have Brown suspended for no good reason:
Gary Cohen on the Orioles/Kevin Brown controversy.
"Let me just say one thing to Baltimore Orioles management. You draped yourself in humiliation when you fired Jon Miller. And you're doing it again. And if you don't want Kevin Brown, there are 29 other teams who do." pic.twitter.com/HkKdr95hQp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 8, 2023
Gare doesn’t miss, folks. Never. He knows the exact way to demolish someone in the wrong while doing it in the most polite way possible so it’s appropriate for TV.
One of the many reasons why the Mets have some of the game’s best announcers — on television and radio — is that they’re not afraid to criticize the team if it’s necessary. And credit to New York for letting them do that.
Let’s be honest, though. If the Mets had an announcer suspended for something like this, there would be an absolute mutiny within the fan base.
The Orioles have denied this report, but we all know it’s true. Hopefully, this uprising will get Brown back on the air immediately. Once that happens, we can refocus on what Baltimore is doing on the field, which is one of the game’s best storylines in 2023.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
