Joel Embiid did not like what he was seeing from his fellow Pennsylvania professional sports athlete.
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost during Thursday’s Opening Day to the New York Mets. The Mets pounced on Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes in the first inning, resulting in Skenes stunningly being pulled after recording just two outs. New York would then go on to win by a final score of 11-7 at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y.
Skenes also got let down by his defense during that nightmare first inning. In particular, Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz committed multiple blunders that led to four total runs scoring. Even worse was that the miscues came on seemingly routine fly balls back-to-back (see the video here).
In response to Cruz’s gaffes, Philadelphia 76ers star Embiid took to X with a harsh message aimed at the outfielder. He joked that Cruz would be better off serving as the designated hitter instead.
“Cruz, get ready to learn DH buddy!!” posted Embiid.
Cruz, get ready to learn DH buddy!!
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) March 26, 2026
The ex-MVP Embiid recently returned to the lineup for the 76ers after a month-long absence. He is mainly a fan of another big sport instead but is clearly learning quickly when it comes to baseball (and roasting baseball players).
