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An announcer on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ broadcast team is going viral for a call made in last night’s matchup against the Yankees. That call came in the midst of a 16-0 blowout that saw New York smack six home runs, including a pair of grand slams.
The Pirates found themselves in a hole early, falling behind 4-0 in the top of the sixth inning. That’s when things got ugly.
The Yankees hit four homers over the last four frames to break the game wide open. It was 10-0 entering the ninth inning, and it would get worse. It was bad enough for the Pirates to put second baseman Josh VanMeter on the mound.
That’s when this announcer got frustrated.
Already peeved at the idea of seeing a position player pitch, an ensuing Giancarlo Stanton bomb would set the announcer off.
Announcer goes viral for call in Pirates, Yankees game
After bringing in a second baseman to pitch soft toss to the best lineup in Major League Baseball, this Pirates announcer got fed up. He let it all out when Giancarlo Stanton dropped an absolute moonshot.
Take a listen.
Here is some more from after this HR pic.twitter.com/uzBMhEssd8
— Julian Guilarte (@JulianGuilarte1) July 7, 2022
As Stanton’s blast sails into the right field bleachers, the announcer mumbles, “This is ridiculous.”
He goes on to rip MLB teams for putting position players on the mound.
“This is a joke. This is Major League Baseball… It’s a joke. They’ve gotta quit doing this.”
His teammate in the booth compared it to a rec league softball game.
Yes, it may save the pitching staff an inning here and there, but putting position players on the mound is frustrating to watch. Fans are already complaining that games are long and boring. When a position player comes into a blowout only to give up six runs in a 45-minute frame, it makes it even less entertaining.
We’ve seen this a ton over the first half of 2022. Let’s see if the MLB does something about it moving forward.