(Audacy) MLB Network analyst Jim Kaat apologized on-air during Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Friday afternoon for a tone-deaf remark he made about White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada earlier in the game.
A longtime pitching great turned veteran broadcast analyst, Kaat made a reference to a "40-acre field" in a bizarre and dehumanizing exchange with fellow analyst Buck Showalter as Moncada batted against the Astros early in the game.
The exchange in question began with Kaat and Showalter gushing over Moncada's apparent physical talents.
"I don't know how much you've seen of Moncada," Kaat said to Showalter, "but this guy should be a star -- an All-Star."
"That's what they look like," said Showalter, who last managed with the Orioles in 2018. "First time I saw him in the big leagues, I looked around the dugout and said, 'Can we have one of those?' That's what they look like."
"Get a 40-acre field full of them," Kaat quipped in response.
Addressing the comments several innings later during a break in the action, Kaat said he had used a "poor choice of words."
"While we have a little break here, in fact I need to read this right now," Kaat said. "Because earlier in the game when Yoan Moncada was at the plate, in an attempt to compliment the great player that he is, I used a poor choice of words that resulted in an insensitive and hurtful remark, and I'm sorry for that."
The incident was a trending topic on Baseball Twitter on Friday afternoon, with some saying that the 82-year-old Kaat, who was a three-time All-Star in a 25-year career spanning from 1959-'83, was out of line and no longer relevant.
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