The Columnist Manifesto

In listing my sports pet peeves, I think I forgot to mention my second biggest one:

The cameras scanning the crowds at the ballpark for striking-looking women, cute little kids, celebrities, the team owners, and sundry strangely-attired or strange-looking people.

My distaste for this is second only to:

the broadcasters commenting on said people in the crowd.

Yet this is standard fare in baseball broadcasts, particularly, it seems in the post season when there is even less call for it. Post season games, which are often closely played and exciting in themselves, also reflect the built-up drama of the long baseball season. There is a ton of baseball for the announcers to talk about... why divert time and energy to making fun of a fat guy wearing body paint and a fright wig?

Last year, viewers of a game I watched on TV were treated to an ugly spectacle, as the broadcasters repeatedly made fun of an odd looking fan in the stands who was obviously disabled. It was obvious to me anyway -- the announcers themselves seemed quite ignorant. The details -- what game, what network, and what was odd-looking about the man -- escape me; maybe I've put them out of my mind. But the announcers just couldn't let go of their unfunny jokes and even returned to the man after a commercial break. It was almost unbearable.

Well, it happened again the other night, during game 2 of the Dodgers-Mets series at Shea Stadium. A fan in the stands had what looked like a kind of Viewmaster contraption rigged over his eyes. The cameraman played over this guy as announcer Tom Brenneman made fun of him for wearing funny goggles. B, watching next to me, shouted that the man was obviously seriously vision-impaired. After quick-cutting to some baseball action on the field, the camera crew and Brenneman went back to the blind guy for a few more jokes at his expense.

Either B's shouting got through, or someone else did, because Brenneman issued a spirited apology in Game 3. As Brenneman briefly described this man's condition of near-blindness, the camera actually showed him again (dogged Mets fan that he is, this guy followed the club to LA to attend the game in Dodger Stadium).

Maybe this little incident will put a stop to the stupid practice of announcers making jokes about fans in the stands.

Probably not.