Braves Announcers thought Bryce Harper’s oven mitt was Oscar the Grouch — And Somehow Said It With a Straight Face

Look, it was a late night in Atlanta. A rain delay that felt longer than the offseason. A sleepy crowd. A quiet press box. Brains were fried. Bryce Harper was pissed.

It still doesn’t explain however, why the Braves broadcast crew looked at Bryce Harper’s oven mitt — the one shaped like the Phillie Phanatic’s fuzzy green head and actually thought it was Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street.

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Braves announces think Bryce Harper’s oven mitt is Oscar the Grouch?

“Is that… Oscar the Grouch?”

Come on now.

That’s Not Oscar. That’s the Phanatic. This Ain’t Hard.

For those unfamiliar with baseball fashion accessories, the oven mitt has become a base-running staple. It’s for protecting fingers on slides, sure — but it’s also become a low-key flex item.

Bryce Harper rocks a mitt modeled after the most famous mascot in professional sports history, the Phillie Phanatic. Definitely not Oscar the Grouch. Not even close, actually.

The. Phillie. Phanatic. You know, the mascot that’s been around since 1978 and is literally on Citizens Bank Park signage that Bryce Harper, one of the few superstars in Major League Baseball has tattooed on his arm.

Late Night? Maybe. But That’s Still a Wild Miss

To be fair, yes — the game did end after midnight, and the crew had just endured a 2-hour, 45-minute rain delay. That’ll scramble anyone’s brain. But even in a daze, it’s wild to confuse the most iconic mascot in baseball with a trash can-dwelling Muppet from PBS.

Look I get it. The Braves have a mascot that was basically ripped straight from a Sesame Street television set so maybe there is a chance the broadcast crew had that on their mind when looking at Harper’s oven mitt but even then, I highly doubt it.

We’ll give them two options here:

They were trying to troll — which is somehow worse, because Oscar the Grouch is the best you’ve got? That’s not even a C-minus troll. That’s an unforced error with a mic on.

They genuinely didn’t know — which is embarrassing and means MLB needs to start offering mascot literacy classes.

Bryce Harper is a walking Philly myth at this point. He wears the Phanatic glove because he embraces the city, the chaos, and the weirdness of what makes Philly… Philly.

If you’re gonna come for Bryce’s oven mitt, you better bring better jokes.

Blooper might be new money, but the Phanatic’s been doing this since before most of the Braves lineup was born.

Stay sharp out there, Atlanta. Midnight baseball is no excuse for Muppet malpractice.

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