A sequence during Saturday’s Philadelphia Phillies game against the Chicago White Sox resulted in hilarious timing on the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast, but Phillies fans likely didn’t find it very funny.
The NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast showed White Sox pitcher Mike Vasil waving a wand in Chicago’s dugout.
“What is that thing?” NBC Sports Philadelphia play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy asked.
“I have no idea,” color commentator John Kruk responded.
“Is that a Harry Potter wand?” McCarthy continued.
“I’ve never seen Harry Potter,” Kruk said. “Maybe he’s like a conductor. Orchestra. Don’t they have that little wand thing they twirl around?”
“It takes dedication to keep doing it,” McCarthy added, as Vasil continued to wave the wand.
On the next pitch, Chicago’s Jacob Gonzalez blasted a pitch 428 feet for the first home run of his major-league career.
Really couldn’t have asked for a better sequence of events over on NBC Sports Philly pic.twitter.com/NrwHYfT5Cs
— Joe Binder (@JoeBinder) June 6, 2026
“Oh, man,” McCarthy said. “That ball is crushed! That is a long home run! Wow! Into the second deck! That is the first major-league home run for Jacob Gonzalez. Wow!”
“Wow”! Kruk said.
“Well, the wand was working,” McCarthy added.
Vasil, who is currently out for the season due to Tommy John surgery, has spent the last several weeks using the wand in an effort to help the upstart White Sox.
“I guess I’m some sort of a wizard now in my free time, Vasil said on May 2, via MLB.Com’s Scott Merkin. “I might be some kind of witch. I might have some witchcraft in there. I might have some magic, I don’t know.”
He now has believers in the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast booth.
The White Sox won the game 6-3 and are one of Major League Baseball’s biggest surprises this season after putting together a 34-31 record.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.