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MLB Network is the exclusive home of today’s White Sox-Astros ALDS competition.
For the occasion, the network has deployed a broadcast booth of Bob Costas, Buck Showalter and Jim Kaat, which must be one of the oldest in recent memory.
Combined age of today’s stand: 216 pic.twitter.com/nLTOmkndiB
– Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk) October 8, 2021
Early in the first set, with the White Sox threatening and Yoan Monada at home, Kaat and Showalter launched into a discussion about Moncada. Kaat brought up his potential, which Showalter used to start a discussion about his physique. It’s quite uncomfortable, but it got worse quickly:
Hey @MLB @MLBTV Can we maybe talk about that “Get a 40 acre field filled with them” comment by the advertiser? pic.twitter.com/BWDmkbCFI8
– Dan Ewen (@VaguelyFunnyDan) October 8, 2021
Kaat: “I don’t know what you’ve seen from Moncada, but everyone’s talking like this guy should be a star, an All-Star.”
Showalter: “This is what they look like. I don’t know about the rest. The first time I saw him in the big leagues, I looked around the dugout and said, ‘Can we have one? This is what they look like.
Kaat: “Get it a 40 acre field. “
So yes, that’s not good. If you’re wondering what happened after that, the comments were ignored, with Costas simply waiting for a break and then returning to the call.
– The IC workstation (@ClippelBoardy) October 8, 2021
Suggesting that any player, especially a player of color, has the kind of build you’d like to see working in the fields is bad enough. Making this 40-acre field, however, is very specific and racially charged language.
MLB is wondering why it struggles to connect with a younger and more diverse audience while still allowing an 82-year-old to say things like that on his own. @MLBNetwork https://t.co/LBeS8IXG24
– LibertyBill (@LBillSports) October 8, 2021
Jim Kaat is riding his bike and has sometimes been over the edge of the abyss for quite some time https://t.co/t75axJEkeR
– Internet #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) October 8, 2021
It’s more of a proof of attracting new people to these booths, not people who look and sound like everyone else, and don’t add value to the shows. https://t.co/IDIRfFP73O
-keithlaw (@keithlaw) October 8, 2021
Kaat’s comments clearly overstep the line, and like Jack Morris a few months ago, it doesn’t really matter where he really came from. As a broadcaster, all the work is in choosing your words to convey your meaning. If you can’t do it in an acceptable way, you shouldn’t be on the air.
UPDATE:
Kaat responded to the remarks later in the game.
wow that sounded sincere pic.twitter.com/5XEzLhFrGL
– Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 8, 2021
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