Former Blue Jays outfielder calls out NBC for analyst selection
NBC Sports returned to the business of live MLB broadcasts this year. Rather than picking a permanent number-1 and number-2 analyst for their Sunday telecasts, NBC has so far rotated analysts who have a history with the team playing that day. On May 24, that means Dexter Fowler and Matt Capps will be the analysts alongside Dave Flemming for Peacock’s stream of a game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates.
MORE: Former Yankees, Blue Jays infielder announces immediate retirement at 34 Capps played five of his eight MLB seasons in Pittsburgh. Fowler played zero of his 14 seasons in Toronto. He spent a month in the Blue Jays organization at the end of his career, then requested (and was granted) his release when he wasn’t added to their 26-man roster in May 2022.
Could NBC have found someone more familiar with the Blue Jays and their current players than Fowler? Kevin Pillar seems to think so. “Would be nice if you got someone who actually wore a Blue Jay hat,” Pillar wrote on X on May 19.
“Love dex super smart baseball mind but let’s get someone who actually wore the uniform if we are going to show him in the hat. ” NBC can quibble with the semantics here; technically Fowler wore the hat briefly in spring training in 2022. But Pillar’s post cuts to the heart of NBC’s idea of rotating analysts.
MORE: Son of former Blue Jays infielder, 14, has agreement with Rangers If the network wants to pick analysts who are familiar with one team (as opposed to all 30, a much taller preparation task), it can do better than an outfielder who spent a month in spring training and three games in Triple-A with the organization in question. The choice of Fowler is a testament to his talent as an analyst — and, at least in part, the fact that he’s played with or against many of the players who will be on the field Sunday. Fowler played the last of his 14 seasons with the Angels in 2021, when an ACL injury ended his season after only seven games.