Former softball player and two-time Olympic Gold medalist Jessica Mendoza on Tuesday night became the first woman to work as an analyst for an MLB playoff game when she was part of the ESPN AL Wild Card broadcast team. Her role during the Houston Astros’ win over the New York Yankees infuriated a shock jock from Atlanta.
Mike Bell, who hosts a radio show on 92.9 The Game, sent a series of incredibly sexist tweets about Mendoza. He deleted the worst one, but not before it was preserved via screenshot.
A woman made history tonight calling an MLB Playoff game for ESPN. This is what an Atlanta radio guy thought of it. pic.twitter.com/xf3Rc07EFY
— Boiled Sports (@BoiledSports) October 7, 2015
Bell later offered a mea culpa for the “Anchorman” reference, but he stood firm on his stance that a softball player had no business analyzing an MLB postseason game.
Really? A women's softball slugger as guest analyst on MLB Wildcard Game? Once again ESPN too frigging cute for their own good.
— Mike Bell (@mikebell929) October 7, 2015
You guys are telling me there isn't a more qualified Baseball player ESPN can use than a softball player? Gimme a break!
— Mike Bell (@mikebell929) October 7, 2015
@ShannanMEdwards my wife is stoked! she's sending her resume to NBC to hopefully call the Daytona 500 since she occasionally speeds
— Mike Bell (@mikebell929) October 7, 2015
@waynecheck this is beyond ridiculous. hell, any swinging d–k in a softball league is now qualified to work at ESPN.
— Mike Bell (@mikebell929) October 7, 2015
Bell’s main point seemed to be that an analyst is different from a play-by-play announcer and that any person in that role on that stage should have played the game before. He also admitted he preferred Mendoza to Curt Schilling, whom Mendoza replaced earlier this year after Schilling sent this incredibly controversial tweet about Muslims.
The problem with Bell’s argument — aside from everything — is that he obviously wasn’t even listening to the broadcast while he was busy freaking out on Twitter. Mendoza knows her stuff as well as anyone and did a fantastic analyzing certain pitches and at-bats. She clearly does her research, knows certain players’ tendencies and takes her job seriously.
Get over it, Mike. It’s 2015.
H/T Big League Stew
