Which Twins Player Confronted the Play-by-Play Man in the Clubhouse over Critical Comments?

Dick Bremer is the Minnesota Twins play-by-play man on Fox Sports North. The Twins are off to an 11-32 start. This has made it difficult for him to heap glowing praise on the team and even forced his partner, Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven, to openly criticize the baseball being played.

The broadcasting duo’s comments have not gone unnoticed in the clubhouse. Bremer says one player took particular exception.

"“I make it a practice to go in the clubhouse every day and go down on the field, so if a player has a complaint about something I’ve said on television they have that opportunity,” Bremer said. “I was confronted in the clubhouse in the last homestand. I didn’t say what I wanted to say, which was, ‘Well, play better and the commentary will be more positive.’ You can’t mask the fact this team is a quarter of the way through the season with 10 wins.”"

It’s unclear if the confrontation was heated or friendly. It’s tough to imagine a Twins player becoming so irate over warranted criticism that the situation escalated to a high level.

Players taking exception to what the media writes or says is a story as old as baseball. It happens far more often than the casual fan thinks.

Bremer putting the conversation out to the public is a savvy move. Twins fans will have a hard time feeling sympathetic for a player showing life off the field, but nothing on it. Bremer also gets to paint himself as someone who will criticize the team that provides him with a paycheck.

"“You know you have to draw the line between placating your audience who wants to see the Twins win, but still when somebody makes a bad play … when (Eddie) Rosario overshoots the cutoff man and airmails the ball to home plate, everybody knows that’s unacceptable and shouldn’t be seen in a Major League ballgame. So you have to point that out,” he said."

Seems fair.

[McFeely]