Baseball and the Austro-Turkish War of 1663. They go together like peanuts and Cracker Jack.
OK, maybe not.
But during Monday’s Nationals-Tigers game, the Detroit telecast and early modern European history intersected while Riley Greene was at the plate in the bottom of the first inning, courtesy of a unique attempt at humor by play-by-play voice Jason Benetti.
Suffice it to say, the joke didn’t quite land.
“So here’s Riley Greene with his 1.663 OPS in the City Connect jerseys,” Benetti said. “And when your OPS in any category is the same as the year when the Austro-Turkish War started, you’re doing well.”
Naturally, the production crew for the telecast found a way to inject some of its own humor into the situation by providing a bit of subliminal messaging for the viewers. The camera cut to the “SeatGeek” sign on the outfield wall at the newly renamed Fifth Third Park, and it zoomed in to the point where only the “Geek” part was visible.
Benetti was a good sport, though, and took it in stride.
“Thanks, Andrew,” he said, referring to one of the members of the production team who surely had something to do with the camera cut. As Benetti tried to continue through his own laughter, he was able to say what we were all thinking:
“That’s the cut of the year.”