Over the weekend, Michael Kay had a 30 Rock, ‘How do you do fellow kids?’ moment in the booth.
That’s not to discredit the 63-year-old Yankees play-by-play voice or suggest that he’s not hip with the youth, but on Sunday’s YES Network broadcast, Kay dropped an “as the kids would say,” when using a unique adjective to describe the Atlanta Braves offense in 2024.
“You know, you look at all their offensive numbers, and as the kids would say, it’s very ‘mid,'” said Kay. “I mean, really, 14th in baseball, average 14th, on-base percentage 16th, home runs tied for 12th. They’re very middle of the road.”
Michael Kay says the Braves offense is mid pic.twitter.com/WazcAgNSG6
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 23, 2024
While the comments weren’t exactly well received by Braves fans, who saw their team take 2 out of 3 from the Yankees in the Bronx, Kay’s assessment wasn’t exactly incorrect. Compared to last season and where it ranks among the other 29 offenses in Major League Baseball, the Braves offense is indeed “mid.”
The Braves, who won 104 games last season, became the first team in MLB history to hit 300 home runs and steal 100 bases in the same season. Collectively, they slugged 307 home runs, which tied the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the most by an offense in a single season.
The quintet of Matt Olson (54), Ronald Acuña Jr. (41), Marcell Ozuna (40), Austin Riley (37) and Ozzie Albies (33) combined for 205 of those 307 home runs, with Olson also leading all major league hitters in RBIs (139) and had the fourth-highest OPS in the league (.993).
While the offense has begun to turn it on as of late, the same group of five has just 50 home runs through the first 75 games of the season. And that’s with Ozuna (21) accounting for more than half, in addition to Acuña tearing his ACL and being out for the season.
You can’t argue with the numbers that Kay presented in his argument, but it’s quite funny that just a few batters after that original remark, Jarred Kelenic took Nestor Cortes, Jr. deep to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. The Braves also out-scored the Yankees 14-10 in the three-game series, even though New York (399) is second in runs scored and just about in the top-5 in MLB in every offensive category.
Baseball can be a funny game. And Kay’s use of “mid” is a funny exercise in announcers navigating the ever-evolving cultural landscape. While some might see it as a cringe attempt to be hip, it’s also a way to connect with younger fans and keep the broadcast fresh.
Whether you love or hate him, Kay usually does a good job of doing just that.