They call TV the “idiot” box. But on Friday, the Apple TV+ Yankees game announcers took over and even went beyond it. The crew failed to “recognize” who Aaron Judge is. Announcers looked confused and made a comedy of errors by distorting players’ names and baseball words during the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
From screen to call and then interviews, all went wrong and the Twitterati started blasting Apple TV+ Yankees game announcers over their mistakes. YES Network or ESPN has never been such a laughingstock.
At one point, to the amusement of viewers, Apple TV+ Yankees game announcers mistook manager Aaron Boone for Aaron Judge. It is unforgiven to field such persons to call the game that has become an enticement to see only for Aaron Judge’s record chase. Judge has been a cult figure and everyone who knows baseball can easily recognize the Yankee slugger.
But Apple TV announcers were from Mars and landed directly on Friday to call the game.
According to Forbes, Apple pays MLB $85 million a year to telecast nearly 50 Friday games. The Yankee vs. Red Sox game was one of two it did on September 23 under the seven-year deal. Another one featured the Cardinals and the Dodgers.
Apple went on to offer free streaming with the hope of getting a massive viewer base the New York franchise is able to attract.
However, everything free comes with a caveat. And the Apple TV+ Yankees game announcers showed it on Friday.
The game at Yankee Stadium was keenly watched expecting Aaron Judge could hit his 61st home run, an AL record Roger Maris holds for 61 years. Just 10 minutes into the game, Apple TV+ announcers twice wrongly identified Aaron Judge.
When the camera moved toward Judge, Apple TV+ Yankees game announcers ignored him and began recalling Mickey Rivers.
The comedy of errors reached another height with their analysis, which a tweet caught.
One of their crew went on to ask Roger Maris Jr. to share his experience of the day when his father set the new AL record. The son was only 3 years old in 1961 and the announcer was aware of it. Still, he wanted him to share his memories of that day.
They even forgot that Roger Maris died in 1985.
The mistakes by Apple TV+ sportscasters spoiled the night for many and fans began comparing them with YES.
Before Friday’s game, there were rumors of the Yankees talking to Apple to share their telecast on YES considering massive fan interest to watch Aaron Judge’s historic record chase. It was believed the proposed deal included production support and Michael Key as the announcer. However, both MLB and Apple rejected the trade offer.
Apple TV+ Yankees game announcers didn’t come prepared. The pre-game analysis by them admired Oswaldo Cabrera for playing in RF while the player was always positioned on LF.
The announcers also frequently erred in calling and this caused fans to vent their ire on Twitter.
