A fan favorite throughout his two stints in D.C., Asdrubal Cabrera was honored with a minute-long video before Thursday’s game in Washington, his first visit back since defecting to the Diamondbacks in free agency. The two-time All-Star was given a warm reception by Nats fans, both during the video and when stepping up to bat in the top half of the first inning. It was a feel-good moment for all involved—the 35-year-old was a key contributor to Washington’s World Series team (their first in franchise history) in 2019.
But if everything went off without a hitch, we wouldn’t be writing about it, would we? Disaster struck when Cabrera’s name appeared, misspelt, on the stadium scoreboard mere moments after receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd. Cabrera may not have noticed the mistake from his vantage point in the batter's box, but beat writer Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post was certainly aware of it.
Butchering a player’s name in the same breath as a heartfelt tribute video is a masterclass in irony, but right now, Washington has bigger concerns, trailing the hot-hitting D’Backs 10-4 (it hasn't been Patrick Corbin's finest hour) through two-and-a-half hectic innings at Nationals Park. Despite the Diamondbacks pummeling Corbin, Cabrera has been a non-factor for Arizona, failing to reach in any of his three plate appearances.
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