October 12, 2016

Blue Jays Announcer Refuses To Use Cleveland Nickname

Toronto Star:
Don't expect to hear the word "Indian" when Jerry Howarth calls the play-by-play in the Blue Jays' American League Championship Series against Cleveland starting Friday.

The longtime Blue Jays announcer said on The Jeff Blair radio show Tuesday that he made a decision more than two decades ago never to use the term because it is found offensive by many First Nations people.

Howarth told Blair that he has also made it a practice to not use "Braves" for the Atlanta baseball team, or phrases like "a powwow on the mound" for talks between coaches and pitchers.

Howarth said he made the decision back after the 1992 series, when the Blue Jays won their first World Series against Atlanta.

5 comments:

allan said...

Also in the Daily News.

Nick Sincere said...

Dave Roberts used his "closer" in the highest leverage situation of the game in the 7th. There may be hope for baseball yet.

allan said...

That 7th inning was just nuts. It took 66 minutes to play!

Poor Dusty Baker: Has lost 9 straight games with a chance to clinch a playoff round!!!

allan said...

Nice piece on the Dodgers and "Use your best players".

allan said...

A great game story from the LA Times: "Roberts ran the game like a clinic, aware of the stakes, unwilling to bend to the sport's orthodoxy. He used set-up man Joe Blanton in the third inning. He called upon his closer in the seventh. He trusted his ace in the ninth."