Brian Roberts apologized on Sunday’s MASN broadcast after his comments about Canadian fans during Friday’s Orioles-Blue Jays game drew criticism from Toronto players and fans.
The incident occurred in the eighth inning of Baltimore’s 6-1 loss at Rogers Centre. After fans booed a pickoff attempt by Orioles pitcher Shawn Dubin, Roberts and play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown discussed the crowd reaction.
Brown initially questioned why fans generally boo pickoff moves, noting baseball’s new disengagement rules. Roberts then took it a step further, saying he had to “be real, real careful what I say, but sometimes we have some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians here and there. At times, it felt like maybe they enjoyed, or they knew more about hockey than baseball.”
Brown immediately recognized the danger, telling Roberts, “You’ve got to be really careful. I’d shut that down now, if I were you.”
But the damage was already done.
“I’m surprised that (Roberts) would say that,” infielder Ernie Clement told the Toronto Star. “He played in this division and played against this team for a long time, and it’s a shame that’s how he feels. The more I play here and the more I get to know the people in Toronto, the more I gain a respect for what they know about baseball.”
“We get 40,000 a night here. I mean, they probably get 5,000 a night, so it makes sense that you’d be a little salty about that.”
Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement told the Toronto Star in response to MASN analyst Brian Roberts questioning Toronto fans’ baseball IQ: “We get 40,000 a night here. I mean, they probably get 5,000 a night, so it makes sense that you’d be a little salty about that.”
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) September 14, 2025
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also defended the fans in comments to the Star, saying that they “understand baseball,” and called them “the best fans in the world.”
Roberts, who spent 13 seasons playing for Baltimore, initially downplayed the comments Saturday. He told the Star they weren’t “meant to be an insult” and said he was making a point about each country’s main sport.
“It was not meant to be an insult,” Roberts said. “It was meant to be like, to me, it’s what I just voiced when it comes to my own life. I would not have as much hockey IQ as everyone in this town that I would talk to. And I would say that most Canadians — and maybe that’s a generality, but I would say that there’s a decent amount of Canadians who would come to America that wouldn’t know a lot about baseball compared to a general amount of Americans that play baseball.”
But by Sunday’s broadcast, Roberts had changed course entirely.
“I do want to apologize to Toronto fans for something I said on the air the other day,” Roberts said during the fifth inning. “I definitely never, ever meant to cause anyone to feel I was disrespecting them at all. I have always enjoyed coming to Toronto. I’ve always enjoyed playing here. I told you that when we first got here. I hope that they will accept my sincere apology for what I said on the air the other day.”
The Brian Roberts apology.#Birdland | #BlueJays | @awfulannouncing pic.twitter.com/Kq1Rf6INa1
— Luke Slabaugh (@LukeSlabaugh) September 14, 2025
Brown attempted to lighten the mood afterward, quipping, “that’s a good way for you to announce your candidacy as prime minister of Canada coming up,” before adding his own praise for Toronto as a road destination.
The timing of Roberts’ comments proved particularly unfortunate for Baltimore. The Blue Jays completed a series sweep of the Orioles on Sunday and currently lead the American League East as they push toward the postseason.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.