Announcer jinxes are an unfortunate part of the job that many excellent broadcasters have fallen victim to. But on Friday night, Cincinnati Reds TV play-by-play voice John Sadak was not only wrong in his statement that preceded the jinx, but was proven to be wrong on two separate occasions in the game.
In the bottom of the first inning, Sadak previewed the Detroit Tigers lineup, saying that the Tigers had a lot of power threats in the lineup. However, his exception to this was Detroit leadoff hitter Gleyber Torres, who has had a slow start to the season in the power department.
Ahead of the first pitch of the at-bat, Sadak outlined how Torres has done great at getting on base this season, but hasn’t been a threat in the power department.
“The only exception really, is the leadoff guy, Gleyber Torres, who does get on base, but does not hit for a lot of power,” said Sadak as Nick Martinez’s first pitch of the game to Torres came in.
Less than a second after Sadak’s comment on the lack of power from Gleyber Torres, he would be proven wrong by Torres, who drove the first pitch he saw 412 feet, well into the left field bleachers to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
As he watched the ball carry quickly out to left field, Sadak stuck by his guns that Torres had shown no pop throughout much of the season thus far.
“And first pitch he smokes,” said Sadak on the call of Torres’ home run. “Torres lost an 18-game on-base streak yesterday. He had shown zero pop over that time. And he cranks the opening pitch for a 1-0 game.”
To be fair to Sadak, his analysis of Torres’ season to this point was an accurate one. In the 18-game on-base streak that Sadak was alluding to, Torres recorded just three extra-base hits.
But with that being said, profiling Torres as a guy that simply doesn’t provide power isn’t all that accurate when you look at the grand scope of his career.
Prior to arriving in Detroit this season, Torres had recorded four seasons with over 20 home runs with the New York Yankees, including a 38-home run season in 2019, his second year in the MLB. Not exactly someone who jumps off the page as someone who doesn’t have any power.
Unfortunately for Sadak, Torres would continue to prove his statement at the start of the game wrong, following up on his hot start to the game with another home run in the bottom of the seventh inning off of Cincinnati relief pitcher Ian Gibaut en route to an 11-5 victory for the Tigers.