Calling the Pen: Orioles broadcaster Ben McDonald: ‘I got lucky’

The day before the Orioles began the second half of their season, they suffered a setback that wasn’t reported until they were well on their way to an 11-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Broadcaster Ben McDonald, who can bring sunshine to the gloomiest of days and teams, had taken a scary fall off a deer stand.

Instead of seeing McDonald playing like a kid on his property or playing a joke on his good-natured wife, Nicole, McDonald was seen in a hospital bed with two broken vertebra and a concussion. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), McDonald is seen surrounded by family and wondering why he was in the hospital. Told that he fell 25 feet, McDonald said something must have broken because “I don’t fall.”

In a follow-up video, he’s walking outside, assuring everyone he’s fine and that he has an appointment with a neurologist on Tuesday. He wants everyone to know how thankful he is for the outpouring of support, but that the doctor has told him to stay off his cell phone while the concussion heals. He also says he feels pretty good moving around but that the doctor has told him not to move around too much because of the broken vertebra in his back.

He hopes to be back on the air on Friday if the neurologist clears him, and it would be great to see Big Ben.

He won’t help the Orioles on the field, but he brings a joy to the broadcasts that is missed, especially during this joyless season. McDonald’s enthusiasm and optimism are as genuine as his love for the sport.

News of his fall, though, was a reminder of how quickly our lives can change.

In the follow-up video, he acknowledges that he “took a nasty fall, and has a “severe concussion, I guess. Certainly scary, but I don’t know how scary it was because I don’t remember a thing about it, to be honest. He adds that he “always wears a safety belt,” but he “ran up to pop a stand out and ended up on my back. Lesson learned. Wear your safety belt.

“I got lucky. I’m still talking about it.”

McDonald, with his camo sneakers and boyish crewcut, doesn’t look or act his age (57). He provides analysis to a game that should be fun. He started a movement last year when he called Colton Cowser The Milkman (“The Milkman always delivers.”). When the 6-foot-7 McDonald stood next to the 6-8 Félix Bautista, he called him The Mountain. And, of course, Turn-and-Burn O-Hearn is a perfect description for the Orioles’ only All-Star this year.

What he says, such as “that pitch turned so hard it needed a turn signal,” McDonald says with a colorful sincerity. He and Jim Palmer are homegrown but not homers; they’re honest in their appraisal of the Orioles, and they provide a pitcher’s insight. Because they come into our homes so often, they’ve built a closeness.

It’s why my wife was more interested in McDonald’s condition than the condition of the Orioles. She had a long conversation with our son-in-law, who’s also a hunter, about deer stands and their construction.

I have more interest in the construction of the Orioles as they limp toward the July 31st trade deadline, but of all those on the injured list, I’m most eager to see McDonald return. Twenty-five feet can be the equivalent of a two-story house or half the width of a basketball court, which is another sport McDonald played at LSU.

In other words, it’s a serious fall, one that could have resulted in more serious injuries. While the Orioles’ play has been discouraging, deflating and disappointing, the news about McDonald was distressing. Let’s hope he brings his light back to the air very soon.