Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay made a rare gaffe over the weekend on YES Network.
Kay made his signature home run call on a ball off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton, only the ball never left the ballpark.
On Monday, the mistake came up on ESPN New York’s The Michael Kay Show. Kay acknowledged that there wasn’t much to defend.
“There are no excuses because you can’t allow it to happen. So it was a total screw-up on my part,” Kay said. “You try to take it all in when you’re doing the call. You see the guy at home plate who’s in a home run pose – tossed away the bat as if it was long gone – then the parabolic arch of the ball looked like it was gonna end up in the left field bleachers.”
The conditions were perfect for a mistake. Michael Kay explained that the grey sky made it easy to lose track of the ball, and when it hit off the glass of the bullpen instead of an opaque wall, he lost depth perception in tracking it.
“I should’ve waited until the umpire signaled,” Kay later added. “I literally lost sleep all weekend. Who wants to make a mistake like that? It’s brutal!”
Kay did mention that he was appreciative of everyone who rushed to his defense and even offered support as his mistake circulated on social media. He was surprised he didn’t get roasted more harshly.
“I should’ve had it rubbed in my face,” he said. “It was embarrassing, and it was terrible. I hated that it happened.”
I would venture to say that 110% of the people who criticized him have never broadcasted anything to an audience live, ever, once.