With 268 career wins under his belt as a starting pitcher over the course of his 19-year MLB career, it’s safe to say that very little scares former Baltimore Orioles ace turned color analyst Jim Palmer at a baseball game. But on Tuesday, we learned that Palmer’s fears are far more strange, particularly when it comes to one universally beloved food.
During Tuesday’s broadcast of the first game of the series between the Orioles and the Cleveland Guardians on MASN, Palmer shocked everyone by revealing that he has never eaten a chicken wing before.
“You know I have never had a wing,” said Palmer.
Palmer’s on-air partner, Orioles play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown, was absolutely stunned by this revelation from Palmer.
“You have never had… Wait a minute,” said Brown. “You have never had a chicken wing?!”
“No, why would I?” replied Palmer. “Don’t they have skin and stuff?”
“Why would you? Lots of things have skin. Apples have skin. You have never had a single chicken wing? That is staggering to me,” replied Brown.
Brown would go on to ask what kind of chicken Palmer eats if he had never had a chicken wing. It turns out, chicken breast without any skin is the only kind of chicken at Palmer will touch. Although he did admit that he has had chicken tenders before, which are indeed breaded most of the time.
On Wednesday’s broadcast of Game 2 of the series, the Orioles’ production crew came prepared with a plate of chicken wings to try and convince Palmer to try one. Additionally, there were chicken tenders on the plate as a fallback option should Palmer turn them down.
“Last night, we discovered that you, Jim Palmer, had never eaten a chicken wing in your life,” said Brown as he was handed the plate of food. “So, look at what we have here. We have a whole dozen from The Warehouse Bar & Grill.”
“Oh, good for them,” said a far from enthused Jim Palmer.
“Look at this. So right here, these are going to be the first chicken wings of your life right here,” added Brown.
Despite Kevin Brown’s best efforts at trying to convince Palmer to take just a single bite of a chicken wing, Palmer simply wouldn’t budge, instead opting to take a chicken tender.
While Palmer did turn down the chicken wing on Wednesday, he did provide hope for Orioles fans by presenting a number of options for the Orioles to do that would result in him eating a chicken wing.
Palmer declared that the first option would be the Orioles hitting a grand slam during a game he is calling.
“I’ll tell you what, if they hit another grand slam while I am broadcasting, I will make sure I eat a chicken wing,” said Palmer. “If they do it tonight, I definitely will.”
“So that’s what it’s gonna take,” replied Brown. “Alright, scouts honor. I want you to stare into that camera and tell the people of Baltimore, the people of Earth, what you are going to do.”
“I will eat a chicken wing,” Palmer declared. “One. If they hit another grand slam. It could be tonight, but it doesn’t have to be tonight.”
The second option for Orioles fans is far more challenging. Responding to a post from a fan on X, he declared that he would eat a chicken wing if the Orioles win the World Series this season.
Orioles fans were obviously already rooting for their team to win the World Series this year. But if they needed any more incentive to avidly support their team in 2025, they certainly just got some from an Orioles legend.