Minnesota Twins broadcaster Jim Kaat made an offensive comment as he described New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes on the air Thursday, marking his second comment in the last year.
Kaat declared the Twins 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Thursday and posed to Cortes while Chris Archer struck out Miguel Cabrera.
“Nestor the Molestor, Nestor Cortés,” Kaat said on the air. “Man, it’s fun to watch.”
The Twins spoke to Kaat after the game and said he plans to contact Cortes to apologize.
“Obviously, we take these issues seriously and, as in all cases, we will handle them internally and privately,” Dustin Morse, Twins’ vice president of communications and content, told The Associated Press.
“Jim didn’t mean any ill will.”
Cortés, who has earned the nickname “Nasty Nestor,” was asked about the incident after the Yankees’ double game against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.
“I’m sure, you know, I didn’t mean it, and people are wrong, but it didn’t offend me at all,” Cortes told The Associated Press. “So, you know, I really have nothing more to say than just that, honestly.”
Kaat, 83, played in MLB from 1959 to 1983 with the Senators, Twins, White Sox, Phillies, Yankees and Cardinals. The longtime Hall of Fame member and commentator also worked for the Yankees and the MLB Network.
Thursday’s incident is the second in less than a year. In October, during an MLB broadcast of an ALDS game between the Astros and the White Sox, Kaat said teams should try to “get a 40-acre field full of players” who look like Yoan Moncada. . This commentary, of course, refers to the 40 acres of land and a mule that the U.S. government promised, and for the most part could not be handed over to slaves after they were released after the Civil War.
Kaat later apologized during that game, saying that “he used the wrong selection of words which resulted in an insensitive and hurtful comment.”
Jim Kaat referred to Yankees pitcher Nestor as “Nestor the Molester” on air Thursday. (David Durochik / MLB Photos via Getty Images)