Baltimore Orioles color commentator Ben McDonald made his return to the television booth for Friday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Camden Yards. McDonald had a scary fall last Thursday from a deer stand while hunting, which resulted in the former pitcher suffering a concussion and two cracked vertebrae.
While the injuries (especially brain injuries) are no laughing matter, McDonald has been in good spirits while recovering from the fall. And the MASN TV production made sure to put a fun twist on welcoming the beloved announcer back to the booth.
First, play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown and McDonald wore floppy hats to open the broadcast.
“Actually, I’m not sure this is the right headgear for you,” Brown said. “I think we might need to get some more in for Ben. A little bit more safety for Ben right now.”
“That’s probably more my speed right there, something to protect my noggin just a little bit,” McDonald said. “Put me in some bubble wrap. If I only would have had this about four days ago, it would have been much, much better.”
Members of the MASN production crew indeed put McDonald in bubble wrap and gave him an Orioles helmet to wear.
“If folks are confused, and you put it out there, you took a bit of a fall last week,” Brown said to McDonald. “You fell out of a tree, suffered a concussion, a couple of cracked vertebrae. We’re just so happy that you’re okay… We’re just so happy that you’re back.”
“I appreciate that,” McDonald said. “I appreciate everybody reaching out too. A lot of text messages, and emails, and phone calls. I appreciate all that. The good news, I’m fine. The doctor said, ‘You’re cleared to go. We couldn’t find anything.’ I said, ‘There’s not anything up there to find, doc. Everything’s good.’ He said, ‘Listen, you might have a little brain cramp occasionally on camera, but other than that, you’re going to be fine and be ready to go.’ So, I’m looking forward to it. It’s great to be back. It’s great to be next to you, and with our wonderful MASN crew. I’m looking forward to it.”
McDonald posted on X about the broadcast opening:
It’s great to see McDonald back in the booth and having a sense of humor about what’s surely been a very tough several days.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.