Banana tosser says he was mad at Giants, nothing to do with Adam Jones

By Matthew PouliotAug 12, 2013, 6:14 PM EST
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After hearing the outcry over a thrown banana, Alexander Poulides reached out to the San Jose Mercury News on Monday and said that he was the tosser and that it was a move made strictly in frustration with another poor performance from the Giants in a 10-2 loss to the Orioles.

Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones believed that the banana was meant for him and that it was a racially motivated act.

“I’m embarrassed and shocked by the outcome,” Poulides told the Mercury News. “In hindsight, I wish I didn’t do it and I apologize. I’m very sorry.”

The Giants apologized to Jones on Monday and were investigating the incident. They’ve yet to confirm that Poulides made the throw. Poulides said he grabbed the banana off a catering cart towards the end of the game as he was on his way out of the AT&T Park.

Fox, MLB sign broadcast rights extension through 2028

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By Craig CalcaterraNov 15, 2018, 10:51 AM EST
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FOX Sports and Major League Baseball announced a few minutes ago that they have agreed to a multi-year broadcast rights extension. The deal keeps Fox as the lead MLB rights holder, and home of the World Series, All-Star Game and a good chunk of the playoffs through at least 2028.

While the press release does not announce the financial terms, Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that it will pay Major League Baseball about 30-40% more than the previous contract. While ratings are not what they used to be, it would seem that the eyeballs Fox is getting are more valuable to it.

UPDATE: That bump is actually even bigger:

For the time being, things will look very much like they do now. Starting in 2022, there will be more games broadcast. There are no specifics about how many more. The release says “FOX Sports will also expand its digital rights,” but again, no specifics on what that means, exactly.

FOX Sports has been a baseball rights-holder since 1996 and has been the exclusive national non-cable rights holder since 2001. That’s gonna continue for at least another decade.