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Bob Costas Makes It Into “Touch ‘Em All” For The First Time…For A Not-So-Great Reason

Imagine this: you have the honor of doing play-by-play duties for an MLB playoff game. It’s the ninth inning of an elimination game, and one team holds a narrow 3-1 advantage with the home team due up. What should you be focusing on talking about?

If it were me, I’d be doing all I could to talk about the suspense of the moment. Highlight who the home team has due up in the bottom half of the inning. Analyze the matchup between the closer and the hitters in the top half. Talk about how one team’s season hangs in the balance. That sort of thing.

But during Game 4 of the ALDS between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees, broadcasting great Bob Costas (who was calling the game) decided to talk about Kevin Bacon.

What have you thought about this wild MLB postseason? Let me know: john.simmons@outkick.com.

Why in the ever-living heck would this actor be relevant?

Costas was trying to make the point that Yankees manager Aaron Boone is seemingly connected to everyone in the MLB. To elaborate on that point, he brought up the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” where contestants try to bring up a random actor and find his or her connection to Bacon.

But his delivery and timing of it was super cringe.

“We were talking with Aaron Boone before the game and I said to him, “You know that movie game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, where supposedly you can connect anyone who’s ever been in the film business to Kevin Bacon in six moves or less? I said, ‘You wouldn’t even need 6 moves to connect Aaron Boone to almost everybody – certainly since the mid-point of the 20th century, which goes back to his grandfather with the Cleveland Indians in 1948, his brother Bret, and his dad…” Costas said.

This is horrible for a few reasons. One, the delivery is super monotonous, which makes it a pain to listen to. Second, it robs viewers of the suspense of the moment. I mean, shouldn’t we be focusing on the game itself rather than a random party game? Finally, it’s the worst possible time to bring it up. This is something you talk about in the sixth inning when you’re looking for filler content in a dull inning, not in the final frame when a team is doing all it can to stave off elimination.

To be clear, I’m not saying I hate Bacon. He was phenomenal in “Patriot’s Day,” “Apollo 13,” and “A Few Good Men.” Nor do I want to make it seem like Costas is a total buffoon because of this one mistake. This guy is incredibly talented, and he’s done an insane amount of good work across a variety of sports (including fictional NASCAR-esque leagues, real ones will get that deep cut reference). 

But for crying out loud, this moment should not have been about bacon, it should have been about baseball. You’d think a legend of Costas’ stature would have known that.

Maybe Caitlin Clark could replace him…

Manny Machado Is Still The Dirtiest Player In Baseball

I hate Manny Machado. There are few baseball players that exude immaturity, classlessness, arrogance, and pettiness like Machado. I could go on, but I think four negative adjectives will suffice to paint an accurate picture.

My first taste of Machado came in 2017, when he was still a third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. In a game against the Boston Red Sox, he over-slid into second base and spiked Dusitn Pedroia – my favorite athlete of all time, in any sport – in the back of the left knee.  

At the very least, this was dirty, at worst, it was intentional. Who in their right mind lifts their leg up after reaching the bag out? Scumbags, that’s who.

Just a few days after that, Chris Sale faced Machado in a home series for Boston between the two teams. His first order of business was throwing a 98-mph four-seamer behind this certified piece of crap for what he did to Pedroia. 

After that game (which Boston won 5-2 – justice) Machado said he lost respect for the Red Sox organization.

Well buddy, the feeling is mutual. Machado doesn’t deserve a lick of respect from anyone in the MLB.

I must reiterate how much I loved watching Pedroia play. He was a fighter, a hustler, the guy that I emulated whenever I played sports in any setting growing up. I wanted so badly to be as fierce and dedicated a competitor as this guy. 

But after this slide, he had lingering knee damage that significantly hindered his ability to play. He was never the same after this, and Machado probably cost him a chance to build a resume that would have for sure put him in Cooperstown (he should be there anyway, but that’s a song for another time).

But hey, at least Sale made Machado look like an absolute fool in Game 5 of the 2018 World Series to seal a title.

Justice is sweet, isn’t it?

Frankly, I think Los Angeles Dodgers fans are glad they got some revenge of their own on Machado by eliminating him and the San Diego Padres in Game five of the NLDS – especially after the stunt he pulled earlier this week.

In Game 2 of the series, Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty hit Fernando Tatis Jr. on accident. Flaherty said after that he was trying to go inside on Tatis since he had already surrendered a hit to him earlier in the game.

However, Machado took exception to this and started chirping at Flaherty as he walked up to the plate that same inning. Eventually, Flaherty would get the better of him by striking him out.

After the decisive strike 3, Flaherty had some choice words for MLB’s biggest scumbag.

Playoff baseball certainly makes guys intense, am I right? It can also show how guys handle pressure and what they do when they make mistakes.

Evidently, Machado’s way of handling these things leaves a lot to be desired.

During a break in the action that inning, Machado threw a ball a little extra hard at the Dodgers dugout, close to manager Dave Roberts.

This rightfully caused Flaherty to chirp at Machado after the fact. 

Of course, Machado played it off, trying to say that he does stuff like that all the time. 

But frankly, this guy is the last person in the MLB who deserves the benefit of the doubt. Plus, there was a significant wind up with his throw, which is not normal.

Last week, I predicted that the Padres would win the World Series. But I am happy to be proven wrong, if it means nothing other than this disgrace to the game not getting a ring.

Also, it now means that my co-worker Ian Miller can be happy – for at least a few more days.

Tropicana Field Currently Doesn’t Have A Roof

Hurricane Milton is causing widespread damage on the Florida Gulf Coast, and the effects have been downright awful. I sincerely wish all Floridians the best and hope that they can recover quickly from this horrible natural disaster.

One place in particular is going to have a lot of work to do to clean up the damage left behind by this Category 5 storm is Tropicana Field. Originally, the Tampa Bay Rays home stadium was being used as a staging area for the first responders who would be helping the victims affected by the storm. At the last minute, the location for the base was changed before the storm hit the city, and its a good thing it was.

Later in the evening on Thursday, the roof on the domed stadium was torn to shreds, leaving the stadium in disarray. 

Fortunately, no one was hurt in the process. But my oh my, is that awful. While a baseball stadium losing its roof isn’t the worst part of the storm’s damage, it’s just another example of how devastating this storm has been.

New York Mets Fans Were Savage With Their Memes After Moving On To The NLCS

The New York Mets overcame daunting odds to earn a spot in the NLCS, thanks to beating the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies. After their NLDS triumph over the Phillies, fans were absolutely ruthless with their meme content to celebrate their first championship series berth since 2015 (the first two are screenshots):

You have got to love how social media remains undefeated. Can you imagine the content gold mine we will get if the Mets get to the World Series?

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Is Bob Costas bad at calling baseball? Do you hate Manny Machado as much as me? Let me know at john.simmons@outkick.com, and make sure you have a great weekend!