The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians were scheduled to play two at Progressive Field on Monday. The game was tied heading into the eighth inning when Royals announcer Rex Hudler pulled off an incredible—and seemingly unintentional—reverse jinx that ended up winning the game for Kansas City.
Hunter Gaddis took the mound to start the inning with Bobby Witt Jr. leading off for the Royals. As Gaddis prepared to deliver his second pitch of the inning, Hudler, calling the game with Jake Eisenberg on Bally Sports Kansas City, marveled at the fact that he had only given up three home runs all season. You can probably guess what happened next.
Hunter Gaddis had only given up three homers this season. Make that four, thanks to the clutch hitting of Bobby Witt Jr. #Royals pic.twitter.com/JzyZIWwpuk
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) August 26, 2024
"Man, oh man, he's only given up three home runs? Four!"
Hudler had barely finished his sentence by the time he was interrupted by the crack of Witt's bat. Without missing a beat he corrected himself to reflect the new total. It was Witt's 27th home run of the year and strangely the second appearance in a row where Gaddis surrendered a homer. It was only the third earned run he had given up in all of August and 11th of the season.
Hudler can clearly alter the course of games simply by pointing out statistics on the broadcast. That could come in handy during down the stretch.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Royals Announcer Pulls Off Incredible Reverse Jinx on Team’s Go-Ahead Home Run.
