A Baltimore Orioles broadcaster issued an apology on Sunday after questioning the baseball knowledge of some Canadian fans during a recent game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Orioles color commentator Brian Roberts expressed regret for his remarks made during a game on Friday night at Rogers Centre.

“I hope that they will accept my sincere apology for what I said on the air the other day,” Roberts stated during a broadcast on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. He added, “I definitely never, ever meant to cause anyone to feel like I was disrespecting them at all.”

Roberts' comments came after a segment where he and play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown discussed the reaction of the crowd. During the game, a significant portion of the 35,367 fans booed a failed pickoff attempt by Orioles reliever Shawn Dubin against Blue Jays player Myles Straw. Brown described the booing as “silly,” noting that the pickoff attempt is part of baseball's disengagement rules designed to speed up the game, which limit pitchers to stepping off the rubber twice per plate appearance.

Roberts remarked, “I gotta be real, real careful what I say, but sometimes we had some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians here and there. At times it felt like maybe they knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball.” After sharing a laugh with Brown, Roberts asked if they were broadcasting in Canada, to which Brown reminded him, “There’s this thing called the Internet.”

Following the game, which ended with a 6-1 victory for the Blue Jays, Roberts clarified his comments in an interview, stating they were not intended as an insult. He explained that he was trying to highlight the differences in knowledge about hockey and baseball between the two countries. “I would say that there’s a decent amount of Canadians who would come to America that wouldn’t know a lot about baseball compared to a general amount of Americans that play baseball,” he said, acknowledging that he was unsure if such generalizations were accurate.

In response to Roberts' comments, several players expressed their views on the knowledge of Canadian fans. Infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa praised the fanbase, while first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. called Jays fans “the best in the world.” Infielder Ernie Clement expressed surprise at Roberts' perspective, noting the high attendance at Blue Jays games compared to the Orioles.

Roberts reiterated his appreciation for Toronto and its fans during his apology, which he delivered during the fifth inning of a game that ended in an 11-2 win for the Blue Jays. Brown humorously suggested that Roberts was using the apology to announce his “candidacy for prime minister of Canada.”

After the game, the Blue Jays traveled to Tampa Bay for a series against the Rays.