While Yankee Stadium may be home to the ghosts of legendary players, the Oakland Coliseum is graced by the presence of ants and opossum.
The New York Yankees began a four game series with the Athletics Thursday night in the Bay Area, and YES Network announcers got to experience some of the great amenities offered in the Oakland Coliseum broadcast booth.
“John, don’t lean too close to the desk because there are ants all over it,” Yankees play-by-play voice Michael Kay told analyst John Flaherty.
“Yeah, I saw those before,” Flaherty admitted.
“It’s great. And that’s just some of the critters we’ve been warned about,” Kay said with a mild sense of disgust. “There are actually opossum cages behind us so they can catch them…I’m not making it up.”
There has already been multiple opossum sightings in the Oakland press box this season, with several beat writers and broadcasters capturing photos of the critter poking its head through the drop ceiling. The Minnesota Twins broadcast crew even had to evacuate the road booth in Oakland earlier this year so an exterminator could attempt to rectify the problem. Apparently, part of the solution was setting traps.
The YES Network cameras proceeded to flip their focus onto the broadcast crew as field reporter Meredith Marakovits did the dirty work, holding up the opossum cages for the Yankee audience at home to see.
“Meredith, wash your hands after you touch that!” Kay astutely warned.
As much as the Athletics are known for a lack of spending on their roster, Oakland’s 55-year-old Coliseum similarly doesn’t receive the financial investments necessary to resemble anything remotely close to a professional facility. It shouldn’t be a surprise to see ants, opossum and other creatures in the broadcast booth there. What was surprising, however, was Michael Kay making an appearance in Oakland, a road trip that he’s often skipped during his career.
“You know Michael, I do want to say it is great to have you in Oakland,” Flaherty joked. “Back in the day this was a Kenny Singleton and John Flaherty special for four days.”
Singleton, a 15-year MLB player, retired from broadcasting after the 2021 MLB season, following more than three decades as an announcer.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com