Justin Verlander was not the only high-profile performer to struggle during Game 1 of the 2012 World Series. FOX announcer Tim McCarver delivered a performance every bit as uneven as the Tigers' ace. While Verlander's struggles mostly induced cringes in Detroit, McCarver's bizarre comments generated mostly laughs.
One of them also got "Barry Manilow" trending on Twitter.
Perhaps his most unusual comment of the night came in the fourth inning. After San Francisco's starting pitcher Barry Zito scratched out an RBI single against Verlander, the frenzied Giants fans could be heard chanting "Barry.. Barry." Understandably, the chant reminded McCarver's broadcaster partner, Joe Buck, of the days when Barry Bonds ruled the Bay Area baseball scene. Things got awkward when McCarver let Buck and their national audience know that he was thinking of a different Barry.
McCarver: "That's a sound he has not heard too often in this ballpark. That sound of 'Barry! Barry!'"
Joe Buck: "They used to say it for someone else around here.
McCarver: "When Barry Manilow was here at concerts."
Yeah, and "STRIKE" is a five-letter word.
It's possible that McCarver meant it as a joke, perhaps acting as if Bonds' name were some sort of four-letter word to be avoided during broadcasts. After all, the former catcher could be heard laughing shortly after the Manilow reference.
Was he laughing at his own joke? Was he laughing with us laughing at him? Was he just laughing because Buck was laughing?
Either way, Bonds, Manilow and McCarver all generated plenty of discussion on Twitter.