Bob Costas to apologize to Pedro Strop for on-air comments
MLB Network broadcaster Bob Costas said on Saturday he would apologize to Chicago Cubs righthander Pedro Strop for on-air comments he made during Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Costas told the New York Daily News he had arranged to meet with Strop on Sunday. The Cubs will play their weekend series finale against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sunday after St. Louis won the first two games.
In Friday’s game, Strop allowed one run in 1/3 of an inning and threw only six of his 18 eighth-inning pitches for strikes. As Strop walked off the field after being pulled by Cubs manager Joe Maddon, Costas criticized his performance and a gesture he made appearing to point toward the sky.
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“Strop is on his way out, pointing toward the heavens,” Costas said. “We can only ask, or wonder, that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance.”
Costas told the Daily News that he winced after re-watching the tape of Friday’s broadcast after the game.
“The tone of it was not what I intended,” he said. “I intended it as a kind of sarcastic comment about this overall thing where everybody seems to be pointing toward the heavens for every accomplishment, large and small, or even for no accomplishment at all. I inadvertently appeared harsh toward Strop. That wasn’t my intention. And so I owe him an apology. And I will apologize to him [Sunday].”
- Mike Fiammetta
