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The Braves’ broadcast combination of Chip Caray and Joe Simpson went out of their way — for whatever reason — Saturday night to call out what they thought was “unprofessional” attire the Dodgers wear every day during batting practice.
Luckily for us, and unfortunately for Simpson, our friend Chad Moriyama from Dodgers Digest and The Athletic was all over this one with the clip.
“If I were a Dodger fan, I’d be embarrassed,” Simpson said. “And I don’t know how Major League Baseball allows such attire when the gates are open and fans are watching.”
Oh the horror, Joe. Won’t somebody think of the children?
“And I think about fans that come to SunTrust Park who are Dodgers’ fans, they have no idea who any of them are, nobody had any kind of uniform on or batting practice shirt with their name on their jersey. They looked very unprofessional. And I think I can say this because I know what the Dodger organization is all about.”
Simpson — drafted by the Dodgers in 1973 — played in parts of four seasons for Los Angeles before moving on to the Mariners and Royals in a nine-year career. He also apparently has a problem with shirts that are meant to raise awareness for cancer.
The shirt they're getting on Utley for wearing during batting practice is a "strike out cancer" shirt. Proceeds from buying those shirts goes to researching pediatric cancer. https://t.co/mGYppAxLGN https://t.co/GomxGlJ7bk
— Daniel Brim (@DanielBrim) July 29, 2018
Seeing a run on @kikehndez #KCancer tees tonight, thanks to his Dad, Chase Utley, wearing a tee during BP. If the Braves announcers didn’t like this...they are going to hate September 2nd. #KCancerDay pic.twitter.com/y5Z8QX6n80
— 108 Stitches (@108Stitches) July 29, 2018
Caray defended the stance.
I’m not the guy taking BP in Capri-mimicking pants, no socks, and no ‘’uniform.’’ My partner merely pointed it out. Only mlb teamhesxseen be so non-‘’uniform.’’ Why not wear MLB-issued BP jerseys with names on road so paying customers know who’s who? Lighten up. https://t.co/s40vjMFbVP
— Chip Caray (@kapaya1234) July 29, 2018
Dodger manager Dave Roberts was made aware of the comments and was not too pleased.
"...because I’ll put our professionalism -- the way we play the game, the way we prepare every day -- up against anybody. I have to hear the audio but that kind of sets me off a little bit."#Dodgers
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 29, 2018
And then the players had their fun.
Tomorrow’s BP attire pic.twitter.com/cL5Yw8Hh3e
— Enrique Hernández (@kikehndez) July 29, 2018
Hey @kikehndez you got a pair of overalls i can borrow? pic.twitter.com/legFHeYENb
— Justin Turner (@redturn2) July 29, 2018
Imagine being mad because a team didn’t wear a batting practice jersey. Wouldn’t you have liked to be in the room when Dave Roberts finally heard the audio?