Cleveland Guardians player accidentally kills bird with infield single
You don’t usually go to a baseball game expecting to see any casualties. If you want that streak to continue, you might want to avoid MLB games as the league is currently on an unusually hot run of harming birds following last night’s matchup between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox.
In the bottom of the second, Guardians RF Will Brennan took out a bird in the infield with a single. It’s the second such instance of a bird getting eliminated in the MLB in the last seven days.
The umpires then had to call for a timeout in order for a crew to shovel up and remove what was left of the bird.
Again, this is twice now that this has happened in the MLB in just the last week. Arizona Diamondbacks P Zac Gallen accidentally killed another one a few days ago when warming up before a game.
Still, following the 3-0 win for Cleveland in Progressive Field, Brennan took to Twitter to apologize to all parties who had to see or experience it. He was obviously shocked to see what happened after getting to first base. That’s why Brennan went on to express his regrets while also comically deeming the bird as ‘an unfortunate sacrifice.’
No one anticipates seeing that kind of incident on a baseball field. As unlikely as it is, though, here’s to hoping that no one around the MLB makes it a third anytime soon.
Oakland A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper fired for using racial slur on-air
Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper has been fired by NBC Sports California after using a racial slur during a telecast on May 5.
The network suspended Kuiper after the slur aired during a pregame segment. That segment came before Oakland’s road tilt against the Kansas City Royals. Kuiper, alongside colleague Dallas Braden, discussed a trip the two made earlier that day to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The 60-year-old seemingly mispronounced “Negro,” with the word instead sounding like a racial slur.
NBC Sports California reviewed the incident, and came to its decision Monday.
“Following an internal review, the decision has been made for NBC Sports California to end its relationship with Glen Kuiper, effective immediately,” the network said in a statement Monday, per the Associated Press. “We thank Glen for his dedication to Bay Area baseball over the years.”
Kuiper first began appearing on Athletics broadcasts in 2004 and became the primary announcer in 2006. He apologized on air saying he said something that ‘didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to.’