It’s a fine day to watch some baseball. Unless you’re a visiting announcer at an Oakland Athletics’ game, in which case you might run into a completely normal occupational hazard: a possum.
No matter how much New York Mets fans may complain, they can’t say they’ve ever seen a possum run loose at Citi Field. The Oakland Athletics, on the other hand, have a possum problem with a capital P.
Apparently, word got out to all the rodents that the A’s were doing especially badly this season, and one possum decided it was a good idea to make a cozy nest in the visitors’ announcing booth.
Prior to the A’s game against the Mets on Friday night, the aforementioned possum freaked out New York’s broadcast team and sent them scrambling to set up camp elsewhere.
SNY play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen detailed the harrowing incident that terrorized the Mets announcers. When Cohen and the rest of the crew went into their visitors’ booth, “they were immediately met by the stench of the possum having done his business in the booth.”
The crew then packed their things and relocated to another booth, one whose view was obstructed by a pole.
But as color commentator Ron Darling said, he chose “pole” over possum. As most people would.
Mets get the win but taste territorial defeat in possum vs. announcers showdown
We’re probably not the first to say it, but a possum crapping all over an announcing booth is… a pretty good summary of the Athletics’ season so far, no?
The A’s got demolished by the Mets that night, 17-6, and they appear to have no control over the possum who is presumed to be living in the visitors’ television booth.
The possum, who has yet to be named, first appeared in the spring of 2022, and a year later it seems he or she has quietly made its home in a quaint, dusty corner of the Oakland Coliseum.
Oakland’s down-in-the-dumps baseball franchise aside, it’s surprising to see what one assumes to be native New Yorkers getting worked up over possum droppings. Who hasn’t seen a pile of rats fight over a slice on the curb? Seeing rodents scurrying about on sidewalks and subway tracks and basically anywhere outdoors is the most basic initiation rite to living in NYC.
In any case, maybe Steve Cohen can redirect some resources toward possum traps later this year? We’ll see how the rest of the Mets’ season goes.