San Diego Padres Broadcast Was Enamored With Concept of Airplanes

Early on Thursday morning the San Diego Padres were battling the Los Angeles Dodgers in a valiant effort to avoid an 0-2 start to the 2024 MLB season. Yes, the games taking place in Korea do count toward the regular-season record. Yes, both teams have spring training games next week before Opening Day on American soil. No, I do not know why they did that. Yes, it is the biggest story in baseball right now and why do you ask?

Anyway, the Padres were up 12-9 in the top of the eighth inning when the San Diego broadcast took a rather hard detour. As the crew was watching Jackson Merrill step into the box, color commentator Mark Grant launched into a tangent about how crazy it was that Merrill was at Petco Park and then ended up across the ocean in South Korea shortly thereafter. Play-by-play man Don Orsillo not only let Grant go but engaged with him and the two ended up marveling on-air about the concept of airplanes and flight.

In other words: baseball is so back.

"It's far away!" Yes it is, Don. Yes it is.

This is a great example of why baseball is a unique sport to commentate. There's just so much room for little tangents like this and it really spices up the entertainment value of the broadcast. Like, yeah, they aren't talking about the game, but it's more fun to hear two people with chemistry and charisma ping-pong their thoughts back and forth than a detailed analysis of the No. 9 hitter's ability to extend a three-run lead with 160 games to go. I'm also admittedly biased to like this clip because I grew up watching Boston Red Sox broadcasts with Orsillo on the call and man, he's just too good.

Between this and the literal rocket ship that ended up the star of a Mets' spring training broadcast last week, we've already got a few quality entries to the highlight pool for baseball broadcasts this season. It's shaping up to be a good one.