My experience in the world of sports television has taught me that very few anchors write the scripts to their highlight packages. And sometimes, they also don't have a lot of time to review said scripts before reading them on air. This is why being a host on live television can be trickier than it looks, and it's also why you need to know your #$%&.
Enter Scot Johnson at Fox affiliate WSMH in Flint, Michigan who had a rough time with a 30-second highlight package from Friday's Tigers-Mets Grapefruit League matchup…
https://youtube.com/watch?v=V2VAdYp8Vwo?rel=0
One minor mistake and two biggies.
The first error came right off the bat. Clearly, whoever wrote the script thought Max Scherzer's given name was actually "Mark." Johnson stumbled when he read it, indicating he suspected something was awry, but then he doubled down and went with Mark. It happens, but that's quite the gaffe when you consider that Scherzer has won 43 games for the Tigers the last three seasons.
The second — and least egregious — problem is that Johnson expresses shock that Scherzer "didn't make it out of" the third inning, which A) isn't all that unusual in Grapefruit and Cactus League games, especially earlier in March and B) suggests that it was due to poor performance, despite the fact he "didn't give up a hit" and "struck out six."
Finally, Johnson credits Miguel Cabrera with the tying run on a Hernan Perez fielder's choice in the seventh inning. The problem, of course, is that Cabrera was actually about 1,200 miles southeast in San Juan, Puerto Rico, competing for Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic. No love for Avisail Garcia, who actually scored there. Garcia is also Venezuelan and bears a striking resemblance to Cabrera. Here's a shot of the two next to one another, from the Detroit Free Press:
More proof that broadcasters, just as much as players, need Spring Training.
(Hat tip to @notgreattvradio)
