A Boston Red Sox broadcaster has apologized for suggesting that the team’s pitchers should intentionally throw at New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm for his aggressive play during a blowout win over the weekend.
Radio play-by-play announcer WIll Flemming made a number of pointed comments about Chisholm, including calling him a “bush league player” after he swiped two bases in the eighth inning of the teams’ game on Sunday, Aug. 30. The Yankees were leading 7-1 at the time.
Flemming went on to suggest that Red Sox pitcher Jovani Moran should intentionally throw at Yankees batter Austin Wells in retaliation.
The comments added even more animosity to the longstanding rivalry between the two teams, and several Yankees players pushed back the following day,
“You’ve seen teams – actually them (last season) – do the same thing where they’re pouring on runs. We didn’t have nothing to say or nothing to do about it,” Chisholm told reporters on Monday before the Yankees’ game against the Los Angeles Angels. “That’s just showing how unprofessional he is.”
Added Yankees captain Aaron Judge: “He needs to stay out of that and not be telling people to throw at players and injure players. That’s not what this game’s about.”
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Flemming was not on the air for the Red Sox’s home game Monday night against the Seattle Mariners. WEEI, the Red Sox’s flagship station, said he was previously scheduled to be off this series.
However, Flemming did take to social media to address the controversy.
“My comments during yesterday’s broadcast crossed a line,” he wrote on X. “I’m emotional and a fan at heart and that bled into the broadcast …
“I meant no disrespect to the Yankees players or organization. I could and should have used different words. These rivalry games get me fired up; I apologize for letting the emotion of the moment get the best of me.”
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm was the subject of some pointed comments from Boston Red Sox radio announcer Will Flemming during their recent series.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Flemming also apologized to him in a phone call on Monday.
Boone said he was the one – not Chisholm – who made the decision on the steal attempts since the Red Sox weren’t holding the runner at the time.
The Red Sox and Yankees don’t play again in the regular season, but they currently hold the first and second wild-card playoff spots in the American League, which would have them on track to face each other in a best-of-three series to start the playoffs.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees push back after Red Sox announcer calls for intentional beaning
