Much has been made about the media coverage surrounding New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s chase for the American League single-season home run record. Add 92.3 The Fan afternoon host Nick Wilson to the list of detractors, and tacked on addition criticism of ESPN.
“People don’t care, no matter how much ESPN butts in, no matter how much anybody tries to make anyone care,” Wilson said. “‘Oh, but he’s a Yankee!’ Honestly, if Aaron Judge was chasing 61 home runs and he played for the Kansas City Royals, if it was M.J. Melendez, if it was Jose Ramirez, hell, Christian Yelich, and he’s been an MVP candidate since he came into baseball, if it was Christian Yelich would ESPN be presenting it the same way? There’s another problem. Just so the four-letter network knows, baseball does exist outside of New York, Boston, and LA. San Francisco and Chicago, too.”
Wilson’s main point of contention with the coverage around the chase was it being an American League record, rather than a league-wide record, and Major League Baseball’s diminished presence in the national sports landscape. He concluded by saying if Major League Baseball doesn’t care about the Cleveland Guardians, why should he, a Cleveland resident, care about Major League Baseball.
