SI

Radio Host Wants ’Sports Talk Jabronis' to Apologize to Hawk Tuah Girl

Stephen Douglas

Haley Welch caused a stir by throwing out the first pitch at a Mets game.
Haley Welch caused a stir by throwing out the first pitch at a Mets game. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
In this story:

Haliey Welch, better known as Hawk Tuah Girl, threw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game about a month ago. This, of course, resulted in a backlash online, as most things do these days.

Chris Russo screamed about it on his show. Phil Mushnick wrote that the Mets should be ashamed. Yet the world kept turning and Welch launched a podcast. Maybe most importantly, the Mets started winning.

While they lost the day that Welch threw out the first pitch, the Mets have gone 19-8 since then, including a nine-game winning streak. They have also passed the Atlanta Braves and moved into the final wild card spot with just over two weeks remaining in the regular season.

On yesterday's Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York, co-host Peter Rosenberg asked when Welch was going to get an apology and called out the media members who had a problem with Welch's first pitch.

"When will the yo-yos apologize?" Rosenberg asked. "The yo-yo sports talk jabronis. The ones who are like walking stereotypes of our business. What's the word? The gasbags. When will the gasbags come out and say sorry to Haliey Welch, a.k.a., formerly—'cuz she's beyond it now—formerly, 'Hawk Tuah Girl.' When will they give her her credit? Because guess what? This team's been rolling post-Hawk Tuah."

While that was a bit tongue-in-cheek, Rosenberg may have a point.

The team was losing momentum from the Grimace era when Welch showed up, having lost 10 of their last 17 games. They clearly needed to re-turn things around again. Once Welch stepped on the mound the attention shifted from baseball to decorum and the Mets were handed a welcome distraction from the dog days of summer. Then they got back to winning.

With seven games against the Philadelphia Phillies over the next 10 days, they will need that momentum to continue. It might be time to bring her back. No matter what the yo-yos and jabronis have to say.

feed

Published
Stephen Douglas

STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

Home/Media