:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/BN7BRQRS3ZHM7KIAM5DV7BCMPU.jpg)
SEATTLE — Set to make his return to the Orioles’ Mid-Atlantic Sports Network booth Friday, broadcaster Kevin Brown publicly addressed his absence from the network for the first time.
Brown, the network’s lead play-by-play announcer for Orioles games, hasn’t appeared on a MASN broadcast since calling the Orioles’ July 23 series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, when, during a pregame segment, he listed team-provided statistics about the team’s struggles in recent seasons at Tropicana Field with Baltimore on the cusp of winning its first series there since 2017.
He was scheduled to be on the call for the subsequent series against the Philadelphia Phillies, but instead broadcasted those games for the Orioles Radio Network. He hasn’t called an Orioles game on television or radio since July 26, but is scheduled to return for Friday night’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners.
“O’s fans – I’m a storyteller. And never want to be a part of the story,” Brown tweeted Friday. “The most compelling story in baseball right now is the story of the league-leading Baltimore Orioles – the best, most exciting young team in the American League.
“Unfortunately, recent media reports have mischaracterized my relationship with my adopted hometown Orioles. The fact is that I have a wonderful relationship with the organization, and our ownership and front office has fully supported me since 2019 when I first came aboard.
“I ask that everyone disregard the distracting noise of the past few days. I have worked closely with O’s [Senior Vice President, Administration & Experience] Greg Bader for the past four years, and [Orioles CEO and Chairman] John Angelos and I have a solid dialogue based on mutual respect. We are all good here in Birdland!
“I am proud to be an Oriole and call Baltimore home, and there is no place in baseball I’d rather be now and for the long haul. Go O’s!”
On Monday, multiple media outlets reported that Angelos took issue with Brown’s July 23 pregame segment and had him pulled from broadcasts. Several broadcasters across baseball criticized Angelos and the Orioles, with fans chanting “Free Kevin Brown” during games this week at Camden Yards.
The Orioles’ account reposted the first of Brown’s four tweets, the first time the team has officially acknowledged his absence.
The situation elicited comparisons with when beloved broadcaster Jon Miller left the Orioles for the San Francisco Giants in 1996 after John Angelos’ father, team owner Peter Angelos, felt he was too negative about the team and needed to “bleed more orange and black.”