Chicago — The Tigers haven’t shown much fight on the field this month.
But whoever’s behind one of the team’s primary social-media accounts has engaged in a not-so-subtle beef with a sports-talk host from the team’s flagship radio station.
Jim Costa, morning-show host at 97.1 The Ticket, took issue with Tigers struggling outfielder Wenceel Perez sharing clips of his home run Tuesday on his Instagram feed — following a game in which Perez also had a defensive blunder that led to the team’s 10-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
“Your team has lost 17 of 20 … You misplayed a ball in RF in the 8th inning to swing the game … You’re the worst player in MLB (-1.0) WAR … Let’s share the HR we hit 5 (FIVE!?!) different times on Instagram,” Costa wrote on X Wednesday. “Read the room.”
On Thursday, the Tigers’ X account admin decided to clap back after Perez hit another home run, to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead against the Angels.
“So good we might share it 5 (FIVE!?!) different times,” the Tigers X account posted, with video of Perez’s homer.
The back-and-forth caught the attention of Tigers fans — hey, at least something did — with many chiming in throughout Thursday’s game, which the Tigers lost, 7-1, to fall into a tie with the Angels for the worst record in Major League Baseball at 22-35. The Tigers didn’t have a hit for five innings after the Perez homer, in dropping their seventh consecutive series.
“Btw shutout since this post,” Costa responded to the clap-back post on X. “Worst record in the AL
“Read. The. Room.”
The admin for the Tigers’ X account wasn’t shy earlier this season in engaging with critics, often with a healthy helping of snark, though the content from the account has been limited to pretty standard stuff (starting lineups, run-scoring clips, etc.) in recent weeks as the Tigers have fallen into a stunning tailspin. They began this three-game weekend series against the White Sox in Chicago 10.5 games out of first place in the AL Central.
Costa, who co-hosts 97.1’s morning show with former Michigan and NFL star Jon Jansen, responded to the Tigers’ clapback on Friday’s show — after 97.1’s star host, Mike Valenti, stoked the flames with a passionate defense of Costa during his show Thursday.
“I would like a baseball team to talk about,” Costa said on Friday’s show, in which he called the so-called Tigers feud “good-natured.” “I don’t want to do the like Twitter feud with the Tigers to make the summer interesting.
“I’d rather the baseball team make the summer interesting.”
The Tigers have a long-standing relationship with 97.1 The Ticket, though the contract between the parties expires at the end of this season and there has yet to be an announcement about an extension.
Traditionally, extensions between the Tigers (and Red Wings) and 97.1 have been announced in late fall or early winter before the final season of the expiring contract for baseball season.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Radio host Jim Costa triggers social-media feud with Tigers
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
