Baseball broadcaster Kevin Brown ahead of return: Focus on the Orioles, not media reports
BALTIMORE -- Orioles play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown took to the social media site formerly known as Twitter to address baseball fans ahead of his return to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Brown said that, as a storyteller, he never wanted to be a part of the story.
The Athletic, citing unidentified sources, reported that Brown was taken off the air over his comments on a MASN-TV broadcast July 23. He pointed out that the Orioles were already 3-2 at Tampa Bay this year after winning only three games there from 2020-22. (They then won again to improve to 4-2 in 2023.)
"The most compelling story in baseball right now is the story of the league-leading Baltimore Orioles – the best, most exciting young team in the American League," Brown said in a social media post.
Brown said that recent media reports had mischaracterized his relationship with the Orioles.
Brown is slated to return to television when the Baltimore Orioles square off with the Seattle Mariners at 10:10 p.m. EST at T-Mobile Park in Washington, the Baltimore Banner reported.
Earlier this week, the Baltimore Orioles indicated Brown would be back on the air soon. Brown's return comes after reports surfaced that his recent absence was because he mentioned that the team had already won as many games at Tampa Bay this year as it did over the previous three seasons.
Announcers such as Michael Kay of the YES Network came to Brown's defense.
"MLB has to get involved," Kay, who does play-by-play for the New York Yankees, said on social media. "This is an awful look and a terrible thing to do to a terrific broadcaster."
So did New York Mets announcer Gary Cohen.
"It's a horrendous decision by the Orioles," Cohen said. "I don't know what they were thinking and they've gotten exactly the reaction they deserve."
Even Orioles fans rallied behind Brown, chanting his name over and over at a recent home game.
Brown said that he and the managing partner of the Orioles, John Angelos, "have a solid dialogue based on mutual respect."
"I am proud to be an Oriole and call Baltimore home, and there is no place in baseball I'd rather be now and for the long haul," he said in a post.
