{"id":879017,"date":"2026-09-01T04:08:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T04:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/879017\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T04:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T04:08:43","slug":"citing-backlash-broadcaster-will-flemming-apologizes-after-calling-for-red-sox-yankees-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/879017\/","title":{"rendered":"Citing backlash, broadcaster Will Flemming apologizes after calling for Red Sox-Yankees fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEEI radio play-by-play man Will Flemming apologized Monday for comments made during Sunday\u2019s broadcast, when he said Boston Red Sox pitcher Jovani Mor\u00e1n should \u201cdrill\u201d<\/a> New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells with a pitch and start a fight with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I have been receiving nonstop calls and threats, I felt like it was important to hop back on here and say: My comments during yesterday\u2019s broadcast crossed a line,\u201d Flemming wrote on X. \u201cI\u2019m emotional and a fan at heart and that bled into the broadcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that he \u201cmeant no disrespect\u201d to the Yankees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese rivalry games get me fired up; I apologize for letting the emotion of the moment get the best of me,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

I meant no disrespect to the Yankees players or organization. I could and should have used different words. These rivalry games get me fired up; I apologize for letting the emotion of the moment get the best of me.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Will Flemming (@WillFlemming) August 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Flemming\u2019s charged comments during the Yankees\u2019 16-1 trouncing of the Red Sox on Sunday went viral on social media, drawing outrage from fans. They came after Chisholm stole a pair of bases with New York up six runs in the eighth inning of the finale of the four-game series. Later in the inning, Chisholm trotted slowly home after Wells homered off Mor\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Mor\u00e1n should fight Chisholm,\u201d Flemming said at the time, describing Mor\u00e1n walking toward third base and staring at Chisholm.<\/p>\n

Moments earlier \u2014 with Wells still at the plate and the Yankees leading, 7-1 \u2014 Flemming and color analyst Will Middlebrooks vented about Chisholm stealing second and third. Mor\u00e1n began the inning by walking Chisholm, and after Chisholm stole third, Flemming suggested Mor\u00e1n should throw at Wells as retaliation against the Yankees.<\/p>\n

\u201cWouldn\u2019t you sort of like to see Mor\u00e1n drill Wells right here?\u201d Flemming mused.<\/p>\n

Flemming also called Chisholm a \u201cbush league player.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to say it,\u201d Flemming said later in the inning, \u201che plays the game the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flemming\u2019s apology did not seem to resonate with a pair of prominent people with Yankees ties, who made their feelings known about the broadcaster\u2019s mea culpa, even though they did not use words.<\/p>\n

Replying to an Instagram post relaying Flemming\u2019s apology, Yankees ace Cam Schlittler used his verified account to post a clown emoji. On the same post by the Talkin\u2019 Yanks account, Hall of Famer CC Sabathia followed with an emoji response of his own: a raised middle finger.<\/p>\n

On Monday afternoon, YES Network play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay offered a new twist to the saga. During his radio show on ESPN, Kay said he had spoken with Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who told him he had instructed Chisholm to steal both bases because of Boston\u2019s infield defensive alignment.<\/p>\n

According to Kay, when the Red Sox decided not to hold Chisholm at first base, Boone said he shouted to Chad Tracy, Boston\u2019s interim manager, telling him that he was going to send Chisholm if the Red Sox weren\u2019t going to hold him.<\/p>\n

Kay added that Boone said he wanted Chisholm to try to score because the six-run gulf wasn\u2019t large enough. Kay said Boone told him that it wasn\u2019t impossible to imagine a scenario in which the Red Sox would chip away at the Yankees\u2019 lead and Boone would need to use closer David Bednar in the ninth inning.<\/p>\n

Flemming joined WEEI in 2019. Before that, he handled play-by-play for Boston\u2019s Triple-A affiliate. His brother, Dave Flemming, is the play-by-play voice for the San Francisco Giants. Audacy, which owns WEEI, did not return a request for comment. The Red Sox directed a reporter to Flemming\u2019s statement on X.<\/p>\n

Tensions were already high Sunday, as Flemming and Middlebrooks discussed a controversial call in the fifth inning that didn\u2019t go Boston\u2019s way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Red Sox 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. The call stood after a replay challenge. What could have been a double play instead led to a five-run inning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not even have to watch it. I know I made the catch,\u201d a visibly frustrated Rafaela told reporters postgame. \u201cI know when a ball drops and a ball doesn\u2019t drop. And I know I made the catch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flemming called the replay review \u201cridiculous,\u201d and he questioned if the MLB Replay Command Center \u201chad its head on straight.\u201d He continued to revisit the play throughout the broadcast and it was the subject of discussion shortly before Flemming launched into his critique of Chisholm.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jen McCaffrey contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WEEI radio play-by-play man Will Flemming apologized Monday for comments made during Sunday\u2019s broadcast, when he said Boston…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":879018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[3959,49,48,462,3980,82,575],"class_list":["post-879017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-sports","tag-sports-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=879017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/879018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=879017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=879017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=879017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}