Today should be a celebratory day off in Birdland. Yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles completed a sweep of the New York Mets, which gave them their 70th win of the year. They are the only American League team with 70 wins, the first place team in the toughest division in baseball, and yet, we can not focus on that at this moment in time.
Today, it was reported by multiple sources, including Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic, that Orioles main play-by-play television broadcaster Kevin Brown was suspended for comments made in a pregame segment on July 23, before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
This report has caused a frenzy online, especially because in a heap of research, it seemed hard to find anything Brown said that would cause such a move. Once the clip that seemed to stir ownership was unearthed, it made the situation that much more puzzling.
The segment was based on game notes that were produced and provided by Orioles public relations staff. Brown was simply relaying information that had been provided to him, as any broadcaster would. Listen for yourself in the tweet below.
I am not going to sit here and say I know for a fact that this is true. I’ve talked to people, I’ve done some due diligence, but the problem I am having is the same one everybody should be having. The fact that this alleged extremely questionable choice to remove Brown from broadcast can not be confirmed because there has been no official statement or explanation from anywhere.
If you know me at all or follow me on Twitter, I am about as positive a person as you can find. I look for the good in people and situations. However, in the case of suspending Brown for reading statistical data or the fact that we have to assume that is what happened because it has been swept under the rug is a shame.
However, that is not what I want you to take from this. I will let other people, more well-versed people, speak their mind on ownership or decisions made by them in full detail. What I want to focus on is why this matters, especially this year.
The Orioles are having their best year statistically and vibes-wise in a long time. Earlier in the week, I essentially wrote about how the vibes needed to be high at The Yard moving forward to get this team to the next level. This weekend, that could not have been more true. The Orioles just finished a sweep with large crowds, and yet, it seems like situations such as this always seem to bring the cloud back out to block the sunshine.
Tomorrow, the Orioles are going into a huge series that will help be a marker on just how ready they are for deep postseason competition. Grayson Rodriguez is throwing against the most current no-hit pitcher, Framber Valdez, and instead, I’m reading about chants to sell the team and “Free Kevin Brown.”
The fan base, media and most importantly, the team in the clubhouse should be celebrating just how special this season has been. The 2023 Baltimore Orioles are one of the greatest teams I have ever witnessed at Camden Yards. Whether you agree with every move made, every player on the roster or every price tag at the team store, the one thing we shouldn’t have to worry about is off-field issues that are surrounded by so much blurriness and confusion.
In the off chance that Kevin Brown sees this, I hope you know that no matter what the true situation is, Birdland has your back. You love this team as much, and maybe more, than some fans. You are the right guy for this job here and now. I, for one, I can’t wait to see and hear you in the booth again or walk out of Camden Yards at the same time talking about what the team did that night, Oasis or some other interaction to follow up on.
As we, the fans, move forward, and this team really looks to do something special, I do not want you to ignore what is happening off the field. All I ask is that we hold the absolutely amazing performance on the field above all because that’s why we love and root for this team.
The 26 (and more) guys who make up the 2023 Orioles have given us a kind of hope we have not seen in a while. Let us not allow that hope be overshadowed by something that, in the end, will be shouting into the void for a leader and decision maker that on multiple occasions (this alleged one being the latest) seems to hold no or little regard for what his organization’s fans or employees think.
We stand with you, Kevin. No matter what.
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