In an on-air mix-up during his “Mad Dog Unleashed” show on Wednesday, legendary sports radio personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo incorrectly announced the death of Billy Beane, the longtime general manager of the Oakland Athletics.
In reality, the individual who passed away was Billy Bean, the former outfielder who ended up working for Major League Baseball.
Russo began the segment by relaying incorrect information…
“The word that we’re getting right now is that the general manager of the A’s, Billy Beane, may have passed away,” he said.
“Wow. Was he ill? I wasn’t aware of this. I mean, he’s not that old. Geez. Was it sudden? We’ll see if we can get some information.
“Wow,” he continued. “That is a terrible story. Billy Beane of the A’s. I don’t know anything about it. This is the first I’ve heard.”
Billy Bean, not Beane, died on Tuesday after a year-long battle with acute myeloid leukemia.
Russo, however, continued discussing the wrong Billy, expressing his surprise and sympathy while speculating on the reactions within the baseball community.
“So Billy Beane of the A’s, now, had he taken a leave of absence in the last, whatever it might be? I didn’t even know,” he said.
“I’m sure his cohorts in the sport knew. You know, he’s very close to Cashman so I’m sure Brian knew. I didn’t know if anybody in baseball knew. I didn’t hear any of this and I’m on the baseball channel every day or thereabouts. So, that’s a terrible story of Billy Beane.”
After about 90 seconds, Russo realized his error.
Reading from a Major League Baseball statement, he corrected himself: “Billy, who fought a heroic year-long battle with Acute Leukemia — uh — That’s the wrong Billy Bean. That’s not the Billy Beane from the A’s,” he said.
Billy Beane, the A’s executive, is alive and currently serves as a special advisor to the team and part-owner of the organization, which is preparing to move to Sacramento and eventually Las Vegas.
Russo apologized for the confusion, clarifying: “That’s a different Billy Bean. Still a terrible story. But that’s not the Beane of the A’s. That’s the Billy Bean who worked for Major League Baseball.
“It’s a different Billy Bean. So we apologize if we got that screwed up. It’s spelled differently. This Billy Bean is spelled, uh, it’s spelled differently than the other one.”
He concluded by acknowledging the impact of the late Billy Bean, quoting MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred: “Commissioner Manfred called Billy ‘one of the kindest and most respected individuals I’ve ever known and someone who made Baseball a better institution, both on and off the field.’ … Great quote from Rob.”
Of course, the loss of Billy Bean shouldn’t be lost in this whole story. RIP to him.
(But Dog has always been the gift that keeps on giving…)