Orioles Broadcaster Kevin Brown Is in an Impossible Situation As He’s Set to Return to the Booth

Also in Traina Thoughts: Security has no interest in stopping fan from running on the field; Phil Mickelson’s betting; Green Monster eats ball and much more.

1. The mind-boggling saga involving the Orioles and their play-by-play man, Kevin Brown, is far from over as Brown is expected to return to the booth Friday for a game in Seattle, according to The Athletic.

We all know his suspension over pointing out Baltimore’s record against Tampa Bay over the past two years makes zero sense and reeked of Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos being insecure, petty and paranoid.

What I keep thinking about regarding Brown’s return is the awful situation the Orioles have put him in going forward.

At some point, someone is going to ask Brown about this ridiculous mess. And he’s going to have to sugarcoat the entire thing and basically lie. He’s not going to be able to say, “Yeah, this whole thing was screwed up beyond belief,” or, “Yeah, that John Angelos is a pretty awful person.” He’s gonna have to say, “I love working for the Orioles organization, and there was a miscommunication,” blah blah, blah.

He’ll return to the airwaves with no explanation of him going MIA. His every word will be dissected and fans watching, while admiring and respecting Brown, will fully expect him to watch his every word, which hurts his credibility.

The poor guy has basically been neutered. A quick check of Brown’s Twitter account shows he hasn’t tweeted since July 26. Before that, Brown rarely went two or three days without tweeting. He’s probably terrified to say anything because he knows he can’t address the injustice he experienced honestly.

It’s just surreal to think about the irreparable damage that has been done by the Orioles in this situation.

And it’s not like the story is dying down. Yesterday, we had the legendary Al Michaels going off on the Orioles.

"They should suspend the doofus that suspended Kevin Brown."

Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Michaels weighs in on Orioles announcer Kevin Brown's removal from team broadcasts. pic.twitter.com/Cav35V7667

— Outside the Lines (@OTLonESPN) August 9, 2023

And Dodgers broadcaster Stephen Nelson signed off from Wednesday’s game with a “Free Kevin Brown” demand.

Dodgers broadcast signs off with a "Free Kevin Brown"
🎙️ Stephen Nelson pic.twitter.com/y3ZrGPRBCg

— VHS (@VanHicklestein) August 10, 2023

Brown will be freed Friday, but the damage has been done and will be long lasting.

2. This is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. The Tigers’ security staff just had no interest in stopping this fan from running around and having the time of his life.

This just happened at Comerica Park. The fan stayed on the field for about two minutes before getting tackled in right field. His journey ended where it started. #Tigers pic.twitter.com/JYT5aAxXq5

— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) August 9, 2023

3. We’ve heard many stories about Phil Mickelson’s gambling over the years, but a new book, Gambler: Secrets from a Life at Risk, has even more. From an excerpt featured on Golf Digest:

• On 858 occasions, Mickelson bet $220,000 to win $200,000. (The sum of those 1,973 gross wagers came to more than $311 million.)

• In 2011 alone, Mickelson made 3,154 bets—an average of nearly nine per day.

• On one day in 2011 (June 22), Mickelson made 43 bets on major league baseball games, resulting in $143,500 in losses.

• He made a staggering 7,065 wagers on football, basketball and baseball.

4. You have to see what happened in last night’s Red Sox game. No spoilers. Just watch.

5. Let’s check in on Shaq and see what he’s up to during the NBA offseason.

6. The SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast is taking a week off, but we’ll be back next Thursday with a new episode. In the meantime, use this dark week as an opportunity to catch up on some of our best summer episodes in case you missed them.

• Chris “Mad Dog” Russo

• Scott Van Pelt

• Adam Schein

• Pat McAfee

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: I get worn out just from grilling a steak. Look at the effort and the performance of this woman making 300 jars of tomato sauce.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.