As the New York Yankees piled on in the eighth inning of Sunday’s 16-1 drubbing of the Boston Red Sox, WEEI radio play-by-play man Will Flemming suggested that Red Sox pitcher Jovani Morán throw at Yankees catcher Austin Wells and start a fight with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who the announcer also derided as a “bush league player” who “plays the game the wrong way.”
Flemming’s charged comments came after Chisholm stole a pair of bases with the Yankees up six runs, drawing the ire of the Red Sox broadcast booth. Later in the frame, Chisholm jogged home slowly after Wells homered off Morán.
“And Morán should fight Chisholm,” Flemming said at the time, as he described Morán walking toward third base and staring at Chisholm.
Moments before, with Wells still at the plate and the Yankees leading 7-1, Flemming and color analyst Will Middlebrooks vented about Chisholm stealing second base and third base during the at-bat. Morán began the inning by walking Chisholm.
After Chisholm stole third, Flemming suggested Morán should throw at Wells as retaliation against the Yankees.
“Wouldn’t you sort of like to see Morán drill Wells right here?” Flemming said.
Fleming also called Chisholm “a bush league player.”
“I’m going to say it,” Flemming said later in the inning, “he plays the game the wrong way.”
Middlebrooks’ criticism of Chisholm’s stolen bases was more tempered, though he called the moves “selfish.”
“By the way, you’re up six (runs). It’s the eighth (inning). The team is electing not to hold you on. That’s the white flag, right?” said Middlebrooks, who played six seasons in the major leagues, including three with the Red Sox. “Normally in that situation, you don’t run.”
Requests for comment were sent to the Red Sox and Audacy, which owns WEEI, but were not immediately returned. This story will be updated if that changes.
Sunday’s matchup was an important game for both teams, which have been jockeying for position in the American League East and in the wild card race.
Emotions boiled over for the Red Sox in the fifth inning when center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela believed he made a diving catch on a Chisholm line drive to center field, only for the umpiring crew to rule otherwise and for a replay challenge to allow their call to stand. What could have been a double play instead led to a five-run inning that opened the floodgates for a blowout.
There was also outrage inside the WEEI booth over the play. Flemming called the replay review “ridiculous,” and he questioned if the MLB Replay Command Center “had its head on straight.” He continued to go back to the play throughout the broadcast, and it was the subject of discussion right before Flemming launched into his critique of Chisholm.
With the win, the Yankees (78-59) moved four games ahead of Boston (74-63) for second place in the AL East. It was the last time the teams will face each other in the regular season, and the win gave the Yankees the 7-6 edge in the season series.
— The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey and Chad Jennings contributed to this report