A baseball reporter was caught out by his mute button in an awkward moment on a Zoom call with new San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander.
The 41-year-old right-hander joined San Francisco in free agency and was introduced to Giants media on Monday to talk about the latest chapter of his career.
But before things got moving, a reporter who thought he was on mute noticed that Verlander’s Zoom name was that of his wife, the Hollwood actress Kate Upton.
‘Look at Justin’s name,’ the reporter can be heard excitedly exclaiming as Buster Posey, president of baseball operations for the Giants, was speaking.
A Giants media officer quickly reminded people to turn their mic to mute before Verlander intervened, seeing the funny side.
‘I’ll change it, alright,’ he said, jokingly holding his hands up. ‘I’ll change it.’
New San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander pictured with his wife Kate Upton
Verlander’s wife inadvertently became a talking point in his first Giants press conference
The reporter in question was Taylor Wirth, who works for NBC. He also laughed it off, jokingly calling himself ‘a bum’ in response to one of the viral tweets about the incident.
The pitcher has been married to Upton since 2017 – they had a wedding in Tuscany, Italy just two days after Verlander won the World Series with the Houston Astros.
Verlander has signed a one-year deal with the Giants for the 2025 season – the fourth team of his distinguished career.
‘I think you can tell that the passion is still there. The fire is still burning,’ he said, once he got talking about baseball instead of his Zoom name on Monday.
He’s 42 next month but insists the shoulder and neck issues that derailed his 2024 season with the Astros.
‘I’m really viewing this past year’s issues as [having the] potential to send me down the path that I want to go down to finish my career and be able to play until 45 or more,’ he said.
‘I’ve accomplished enough in my career. I wouldn’t be back if I didn’t think I could be great.’
