ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan is issuing an apology after shooting off a “hurtful” tweet aimed at FOX’s Ben Verlander.
Taking to Twitter Tuesday night, Passan said he was sorry and that the tweet has been deleted.
“Earlier, a tweet directed at [Ben Verlander] crossed the line and was hurtful to many,” Passan said. “I deleted the tweet and sincerely apologize. Though Ben and I have known one another for a while and often joke on Twitter, it’s no excuse for my mistake. I will be better and learn from it.”
The two baseball personalities were going back and forth earlier in the day after Passan poked fun at his love for Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Verlander shot back with a tweet saying, “Grab a step stool and day it to my face Jeffey boy.”
To which ESPN’s go-to guy for all things baseball replied, “When you’re talking about Shohei, you’re usually on your knees though, right?”
It’s not known if ESPN will discipline Passan, but the network clearly wasn’t going to let that tweet fly without issuing an apology.