‘It’s your bat flip!’ Don Orsillo’s copyright read and paper-snap technique drew attention

Sports announcers don’t usually get to pull off their own athletic feats in the booth. But San Diego Padres’ play-by-play voice Don Orsillo has one he takes pride in, the emphatic paper snap after a successful read of an ad or other material. Orsillo did just that Friday with his read of the standard MLB copyright disclaimer, and analyst Tony Gwynn Jr. took note, leading to quite a funny conversation:

Gwynn says “Does anybody in this league read the copyright better than you?” Orsillo responds with some humility with “I think so, there’s probably someone,” and then Gwynn reinforces his original opinion with “I don’t think so. The paper snap at the end is like, the cherry on top.”

Orsillo then says “I got overrated.” Gwynn responds with “Oh, you got overrated on your own paper snap?” They then discuss the paper snap itself a bit, and break to call the action, with Orsillo then eventually demonstrating the paper snap and saying “It’s tough to get it right…but when an announcer nails a read, it’s your bat flip!”

Local baseball broadcasts are often the home for these kinds of humorous digressions, with the sport’s rhythms and fans’ familiarity with their team’s announcers perhaps particularly suited to that. And skilled broadcasters like Orsillo are great at picking their spots for these moments; this conversation didn’t wind up interfering with the underway at-bat, and it added a lot of levity to this game. The Padres eventually beat the Pirates 3-2 Friday, but the real highlight of the night might have been Orsillo’s paper snap and the discussion it lead to.