(670 The Score) In an unprovoked comment, White Sox television play-by-play announcer John Schriffen on Tuesday took a shot at baseball analyst Rob Friedman, who’s better known as the "Pitching Ninja" on social media, where he runs that beloved X account.
During the broadcast of the White Sox's 8-3 loss to the Twins, Schriffen responded that Pitching Ninja “won’t be my source” after colleague Brooke Fletcher praised Friedman in an on-air report. Those comments caught Friedman’s attention, and Schriffen later apologized to Friedman and attempted to clarify his comment.
“I’m just sitting there watching the game, chilling out, and all of a sudden I hear my name, and I’m like, ‘Why am I catching strays here?’ Like, I didn’t understand it,” Friedman told the Mully & Haugh Show on Thursday. “It was just really weird.
“I was surprised. Again, I didn’t even want this whole thing to be anything. I’m just a poor little dude sitting at my computer and getting shot at. But, apparently it wasn’t even a shot. I get what he was trying to say. He was big enough – he contacted me on Instagram, apologized and then he said it on air, which he didn’t have to do. So, my hat’s off.”
White Sox senior pitching advisor Brian Bannister shared support for Friedman on social media after Schriffen's criticism.
“Our sport needs more people that celebrate the awesomeness of what these guys can do,” Bannister wrote to Friedman on X. “You’re one of the best things to ever happen to baseball.”
In addition to his private apology to Friedman, Schriffen explained his comments during the White Sox broadcast Wednesday.
“I want to take this opportunity to clarify something that I said on the broadcast last night,” Schriffen started. “We were having a conversation about players who get tips or news off of things that they find on Twitter, which is now X, and I made the comment, and in no way was I intending to take a jab or a swipe at Pitching Ninja, which is a great resource for people who can break down the art of pitching.
“I went back, I watched the broadcast last night, and clearly it was not what I intended to say, and I apologized. I reached out to Rob privately. He’s the guy who runs Pitching Ninja, and we had a great conversation. He said I understand, there’s no bad beef here or anything like that. What I intended to say was, because I’m not on Twitter anymore, Twitter and X is not a source for me, and I said that on the previous game’s broadcast. I deleted it, and I’m not on Twitter anymore.
“So, I just wanted to clarify that. I am a big fan of Pitching Ninja. I think it’s great for the game of baseball. It gets people involved in a very creative way. So, no way was I trying to take a jab there.”