Orioles Announcer Was Suspended After Citing Team’s Poor Record Against Tampa: Report

An announcer for the Baltimore Orioles was suspended reportedly for citing on air the team’s historically bad record against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Kevin Brown made the comments on MASN during the team’s game against the Rays on July 23. According to The Athletic, multiple sources privy to the decision to suspend Brown said his suspension was catalyzed by his remarks; the suspension was first reported by Awful Announcing.

“It’s felt like this has been maybe the toughest ballpark to play in,” Brown stated on July 23. “But the Orioles have a chance to do something special today; they’ve already clinched at least a split in the series, winning two of the first three, and they could pick up a series win behind Tyler Wells today.”

“It’s been a minute; the Orioles split a two-gamer with the Rays in June,” he continued. “They had lost their last 15 series here at Tropicana Field. You have to go back to when our now-colleague Brad Brock picked up the win in the series finale June 25, 2017, the last time the Orioles won a series here at St. Pete. Already got three and two at the Trop this year after winning three of eighteen the previous three years combined.”

“It is a stark difference, Bennett,” he said to fellow announcer Ben McDonald. “It is not a bad Rays team,” he said. “It’s not like all of a sudden the Rays became slouches in the American League East. They’ve led this division every day but now two, and the Orioles once again, are back alone in first place.”

Here's the clip of Kevin Brown's pregame comments on the Orioles' recent record against the Rays ahead of a series finale on July 23. Sources tell AA these comments led to Brown's current indefinite suspension from Orioles' broadcasts. pic.twitter.com/csURU04fJU

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 7, 2023

The July 23 game notes, collated by the Orioles’ public relations staff, had noted, “The Orioles have won three of the first five games at The Trop this season after winning three of the 21 games played in St. Petersburg from 2020-22.”

According to The Athletic, Orioles ownership took umbrage at Brown’s remarks because they thought it made them sound tight-fisted. The team’s payroll ranks 29th out of 30 teams in Major League baseball.

Brown did announce for the team on the radio the next series against Philadelphia, although The Athletic reported he did so because another announcer got in trouble with the team.

On Tuesday, The New York Post reported that a senior Orioles official told Awful Announcing that Brown will be back, saying, “We look forward to hearing Kevin’s voice soon.”