Ryan Dempster apologizes after making bad joke about minor league team's dead dog
Ryan Dempster, the colorful ex-MLB pitcher and current MLB Network personality, might have gotten a little too colorful Tuesday when talking about Derby, the famous and beloved bat dog of the Trenton Thunder, who died from cancer over the weekend.
Dempster used the occasion of Derby’s death to make a joke about pace-of-play in baseball. Pace-of-play has been an issue in baseball for a few years and it’s certainly a viable topic of discussion for baseball fans, but Dempster clumsily made a joke about how Derby’s death will speed up the game.
It caught the attention of baseball blogger Patrick Hennessy:
“On a brighter side, the pace of game will pick up a little bit there in Trenton.” If it wasn’t already clear before, Ryan Dempster is a joke. pic.twitter.com/qtseFyPs6x
— Patrick Hennessy (@TrueHennessy) January 9, 2018
I’m not a professional comedy reviewer, but even I know that’s not a great joke. Dempster got beat up a bit on Twitter, as you’d imagine. Then he sent out a respectful Derby tweet once he was off TV, but he was still catching heat.
RIP to Derby the lovable adorable bat dog of the Trenton Thunder. You were a better batboy than most. May you rest peacefully and find your same place in the baseball game of heaven…. you will be missed.
— RyanDempster (@Dempster46) January 9, 2018
Sorry for my insensitive remark today. I did own it. I apologized to Derby's family and to the Trenton Thunder already. A mistake to learn from for sure….
— RyanDempster (@Dempster46) January 9, 2018
It was New York Yankees fans who were mostly outraged at Dempster, and that has some layers we need to peel back. First off, the Trenton Thunder are the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees. But Yankees fans also despise Dempster from his Red Sox days, particularly when he purposely hit A-Rod in 2013.
I for one am not a sensative guy, but I have a love for animals and especially dogs. Derby was and his son Rookie is a part of Minor League Baseball stardom. @Dempster46 your claim to fam is intentionally drilling @AROD then allowing him to take you deep to center. #Clown #sad https://t.co/mTjwDG5zU7
— The Simonetti Source (@SimonettiSource) January 9, 2018
I heard the distasteful things @Dempster46 said about Derby. I'm furious. But instead of focusing on him, I will say this:
Humans will break your heart over and over. Dogs will only break your heart once, and that is when they pass away. That's why dogs are superior to humans.
— Delia Enriquez (@dfiregirl4) January 9, 2018
Some particularly angry people took it even further — wishing bodily harm (or worse) on Dempster. Perhaps they missed the irony. By going after Dempster in such a fashion, they’re showing the same insensitivity toward life that they’re mad at Dempster for.
This might be too hot of a take for the 2018 internet, but let’s give it a try: Making bad jokes about dead dogs is bad and so is saying horrible things to people who make bad jokes about dead dogs.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
