Don Orsillo continues to live his best life in San Diego.
Do you think he misses Boston, where it is 48 degrees and raining on May 4?
The beloved broadcaster has already called some exceptional games this season for the star-studded Padres, including Joe Musgrove’s no-hitter and an epic series against the Dodgers — featuring a bench-cleaning brawl and spectacular grab from Mookie Betts. And naturally, Orsillo keeps cracking up viewers along the way.
He understands that baseball should be fun. What a concept.
Orsillo’s most recent viral bit involved former Red Sox farmhand Mauricio Dubon, who was regrettably traded to the Brewers as part of a package for Tyler Thornburg. Dubon’s carved out a decent little career for himself with the Giants, slashing .261/.312/.390 in parts of three seasons. And now, apparently, he’s on Orsillo’s radar.
So much, in fact, that Orsillo said he would like to explore a name change.
“I wish my name was ‘Mauricio Dubon.’” I love it,” Orsillo said. “I’m pretty much all about Maurcio Dubon. I would introduce myself to anybody who cared: ‘Hello, I’m Mauricio Dubon.’”
The routine is utterly ridiculous. Yet, color man Mark Grant couldn’t stop cracking up, right along with Orsillo.
Orsillo always manages to enhance the viewing experience, which is the hallmark of a great broadcaster. The baseball product continues to plod along, with batters hitting just .232 through April and on pace to set a new strikeout record for the 13th straight season. We need some levity during a three-hour game. That’s exactly what Orsillo provides.
While NESN’s broadcast remains solid— and becomes exceptional when they run out the O’Brien-Remy-Eckersley three-man booth — it would still be better if Orsillo were around. He was always great with Remy. Just imagine how fun it would be to hear him with Eckersley.
For now, we’ll have to settle for late-night Twitter clips to get our Orsillo fix. Tune into the Padres for Fernando Tatis Jr.’s sweet stroke, and stay for Orsillo’s never-ending hilarity.
