Things took an unexpected twist during Tuesday night’s Yankees broadcast. Surprisingly, it wasn’t even the game that grabbed attention.
As the YES network cameras focused on Gerrit Cole as he strolled through the dugout in the fifth inning, former Yankees skipper and current analyst Joe Girardi had a sharp exchange with broadcaster Michael Kay.
The reason? Kay used the arm of his glasses to stir his tea.
Kay explained that while Jennifer, the attentive Yankees stage manager, kindly brought him a cup of tea, she forgot to include a stirrer, prompting his unconventional choice.
Girardi did not hesitate to express his disapproval of this innovative stirring method.
“Let’s talk about what you did last half inning,” Girardi said. “You ask for tea, hot tea. Not sure why, I don’t know if you’re cold. And Jennifer was nice enough to give you your tea and your Equal. You steeped, and then you added your Equal. That dissolves, that dissolves! And you stirred it with your glasses.”
Though Girardi argued that the sweetener dissolves on its own and that Kay didn’t need to use his glasses, Kay disagreed.
Girardi then jokingly asked Kay if he took science classes in school, and Kay said yes, despite Girardi saying that the laws of physics don’t exist in Kay’s house.
“That’s a first for me, I’ve never seen anyone do that,” Girardi said. “That’s why I was taken aback.”
“If we work together for another 10 years, you’re going to see it a lot,” Kay replied.
After spending four years with the team as a player, Girardi managed the Yankees from 2008-17, helping the team win its 27th World Series in 2009.
Before his final season with the club in 2017, Girardi made the playoffs five other times.
He then became the Phillies manager in 2020 but was fired early in 2022 after a slow start.
Girardi has worked with the Yankees broadcast team since 2024, and was on the call with Kay for the Yankees 3-2 win over the White Sox Tuesday night.