Pants Down and Laughs Up as Twins Broadcast Goes Viral

[Cody Christie]

Spring training is a time for timing to return, for mechanics to sharpen, and for everyone around the game to find their rhythm again. That does not just apply to hitters and pitchers. Broadcasters are shaking off rust too, and sometimes that leads to moments that take on a life of their own.

That is exactly what happened in the Twins television booth when Glen Perkins and Cory Provus found themselves tangled in an exchange about Byron Buxton and his uniform style.

It started innocently enough. Or at least it was supposed to. Perkins attempted to describe Buxton’s preference for wearing his baseball pants all the way down rather than pulled up to show high socks. Instead, he delivered a question that immediately veered off course.

Perkins (GP): “You ever seen Buck with his pants down?”

Provus, caught off guard, tried to clarify.

Provus (CP): “Uh, no. Like in shorts?”

GP: “No, like he’s got…he doesn’t have his,... no socks showing.”

CP: “Ah, I see what you’re saying.”

From there, the moment snowballed. Perkins tried to explain. Provus tried to recover. The booth never quite found its footing again, and within hours, the clip was circulating far beyond the usual Twins audience.

It is the kind of exchange that lives in the uncomfortable middle ground between confusion and comedy. No one involved meant anything beyond a simple observation about uniform style, but the phrasing turned it into something else entirely. That disconnect is exactly why it spread.

To their credit, Perkins and Provus leaned into it. During the spring training finale against the Boston Red Sox, they revisited the moment with a level of self awareness that made it even better.

CP: “Take a look at that sharp uniform today, and just because we are thorough, the baseball pants the baseball pants are down at the bottom.”

Perkins followed with a line that perfectly captured the absurdity of the entire situation.

GP: “He has got his pants up around his waist, but also down around his ankles at the same time.”

CP: “Baseball pants”

GP: “Baseball pants”

CP: “Baseball pants. Well that became a thing”

At that point, everyone was in on the joke. Even Derek Shelton, who joined the broadcast, admitted the moment had taken on a life of its own. He said his phone lit up with messages from fellow parents in his volleyball circles, all reacting to what they had heard. His reaction was about what you would expect from someone trying to process the unexpected.

"The first time I heard it, I was like, 'Good God, I don't know how to comment on this or think about it.' So, yeah, I don't know," Shelton said. "I was actually going to say last inning that Buck looks good with his pants down, not his pants on."

Shelton even joked about nearly adding his own line to the chaos, saying he considered pointing out that Buxton looked good with his pants down, before wisely thinking better of it. Most importantly, he recognized what the moment had become.

DS: “You guys definitely caught people’s attention. And the one thing about it is no one got canceled, which is the most important thing. And number two, you guys decided that you were going to bring the Twins to the forefront of the viral universe for about four or five hours.”

That might be the most accurate summary of all. For his part, Buxton handled it exactly how you would expect from a veteran who has seen just about everything at this point. According to Perkins, the center fielder could not do anything but laugh when the two crossed paths afterward.

Spring training can feel long. The games do not count. The repetitions can blur together. But every now and then, something breaks through the routine and reminds everyone that baseball is still a game, and the people around it are still human.

This was one of those moments. It was awkward. It was unintentionally hilarious. It was completely harmless. And in a sport that often takes itself very seriously, it was a reminder that sometimes the best content is the kind no one plans. All it took was one question, one misunderstanding, and one pair of baseball pants to give the Twins their most unexpected viral moment of the spring.

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[nicksaviking]

The problem with everyone playing with their pants down, is that it really becomes obvious which guys are swinging a lighter bat.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

5 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

The problem with everyone playing with their pants down, is that it really becomes obvious which guys are swinging a lighter bat.

[shortround81]

Man, I wish I could find the clip where Dick Bremer and Perk were trying Dodger dogs. Perk, very cautiously, stated that he likes a shorter, thicker weiner

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, shortround81 said:

Man, I wish I could find the clip Dick Bremer and Perk were trying Dodger dogs. Perk, very cautiously, stated that he likes a shorter, thicker weiner

[terrydactyls]

That was a great way to end spring training.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

11 hours ago, shortround81 said:

Man, I wish I could find the clip where Dick Bremer and Perk were trying Dodger dogs. Perk, very cautiously, stated that he likes a shorter, thicker weiner

 

[shortround81]

2 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

 

You are doing the Lord(e)'s work, Richie!