Have the Orioles ruined their good vibes summer with an ill-advised broadcast controversy?

The Orioles have recently been in the news for not a great reason, as the team has reportedly benched its broadcast voice Kevin Brown after the announcer simply noted that the team has had more success against the Rays this season than any in recent memory. Needless to say, if the move has backfired spectacularly on the team.

The crew from Baseball is Dead has taken note and shared its thoughts.

Jared notes that the Orioles aren’t the only team in recent history to struggle against the Rays and to note that your team has struggled against them is not something to shun your announcer for. Jared did think it was very cool that broadcasters throughout sports have stepped up and advocated for Brown.

Dallas said it’s been tough to see what has happened to Brown because it was a fair and factual statement and, contextually, it was being made to shine a light on the team’s success this season and the hope for the future. Dallas also said it’s tough to see as a member of a team broadcast as it shows that no matter what you say, if somebody powerful enough doesn’t like it that could be it. He says it’s a very tough climate to live in.

Jared points out that the fact there was a graphic made for television shows this wasn’t some case of a broadcaster going rogue, everyone knew what was coming. He said you’re cued up to talk about it, there was a production meeting, stats researched. Dallas points out there was a collaborative effort and at the end of it was an individual putting stats into context, which he says Brown did an excellent job of. Dallas says given that context, he’s actually giving fans something to be EXCITED about going forward.

Jayhay said that when he heard the news he was expecting some type of snarky comment or laugh at the team’s expense at the end, but it never came. Jayhay also points out that his understanding is the underlying stats came from the team-sanctioned game notes of all places. This means it wasn’t just a conversation amongst the TV production group. So after his initial reaction of how innocuous the comments were, Jayhay said his secondary reaction was just how stupid successful people can be sometimes. He points out that the Orioles were in the middle of a Good Vibes Only 2023 season and now the team leadership has taken a tough-look situation and made it worse by trying to cover it up, leading to loud chants at the Camden Yards.

Jayhay says it’s crazy sometimes how these teams step on their own feet over nothing, where it was full steam ahead and everybody was feeling good about the Orioles and now because of a decision that seemingly did not need to be made has distracted from that.

In the end, all of it reflects poorly on the Orioles and the team’s ownership.

Listen to the podcast or watch the video below for the full discussion!

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Kevin Brown

• Kevin Brown was the talk of the baseball world earlier this week when the Orioles suspended him indefinitely for seemingly doing nothing. We’re reacting to the news and Dallas gives his perspective on working in the broadcasting space in this day and age. Other topics include the Rangers and Mariners winning streaks, the Dodgers pulling away in the NL West, best position-player seasons of all-time, the 2023 postseason schedule, Shane McClanahan’s injury, and more White Sox drama!

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