Atlanta Braves: Joe Simpson/Juan Soto feud hits another level

Atlanta Braves television announcer Joe Simpson made a sideways comment about Juan Soto. It’s taken on a life of its own.

This past week, Atlanta Braves announcer Joe Simpson made a slip during the broadcast that suggested that Washington Nationals rookie phenom Juan Soto was perhaps not his stated age of 19, but actually older. He walked back the comments immediately the next day, but the damage was done.

Simpson has drawn ire around the game recently with his comments regarding the Dodgers batting practice jerseys, so his name being associated with raising questions on a player led to plenty of comments about the “old, white guy” views from Simpson on Facebook and Twitter baseball groups.

While certainly misinformed as the issue has not been present for over a decade, Simpson was certainly not off base that in the past, players of Latin heritage could have age discrepancies on a seemingly every offseason basis. Soon after 9/11/2001, tightened rules on immigration led to plenty of adjusted ages and even names on a number of major league players. One of the more notable incidents was actually a member of the Atlanta Braves at the time, as Rafael Furcal went from 19 to 22 after a drunk driving incident revealed his real age.

The DPL’s statement

I personally spend a lot of time reviewing work done by the Dominican Prospect League. The league does a great job of getting exposure for young Dominican players, and many of the best young Dominican players go through the DPL. As Soto is an alumni of the DPL, they took the opportunity to defend him on Thursday evening:

From the standpoint of an Atlanta Braves fan who is a fan of what the DPL does, it seems an overly strong statement of response to Simpson’s actions, but at the same time, it’s not completely out of bounds either due to the incredible work Dominican players go through, alongside the DPL, to get to the majors and the sensitivity that the DPL has for those players who are still working hard just to overcome an incredibly steep challenge of getting off the island to have a chance at the majors.

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Suddenly, the Atlanta Braves may have a problem

This isn’t the first incident this season where Simpson has put his foot in his mouth during an Atlanta Braves broadcast. Less than 10 days prior to his Soto statements, Simpson had ripped into the Los Angeles Dodgers for their batting practice attire, seemingly without researching that the attire is fundraising clothing to fund cancer research.

These sorts of incidents are putting Atlanta Braves fans on the defensive on a consistent basis in overall baseball communities, as fans of other teams are confused how such statements don’t come with punishment. With excellent showing from Jeff Francoeur when he’s been in the both, among others, perhaps it’s time to guide Joe Simpson out the door after the 2018 season and change the image of the Atlanta Braves broadcast.

What do you think? Was Joe out of line? Does he need to go? Is it all hogwash? Comment below!