Baseball commentator issues groveling apology to Canadians after savage on-air joke

Orioles commentator Brian Roberts has offered a 'sincere apology' after questioning the baseball knowledge of Canadian fans during a recent broadcast.

Roberts and colleague Kevin Brown were calling the Orioles' matchup at the Blue Jays on Friday night when a pick-off attempt from Baltimore pitcher Shawn Dubin was booed by fans at the Rogers Centre.

Play-by-play man Brown called that reaction 'silly' before Roberts issued a harsher opinion. 

'I gotta be real, real careful what I say, but sometimes we had some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians here and there,' the former Baltimore second baseman said.

'At times it felt like maybe they knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball,' he added.

Brown then suggested that Roberts 'shut that down now', to which the former player cracked: 'We're not on the air in Canada, are we?'

Of course, his comments spread online and on Sunday Roberts apologized during the MASN broadcast of the Orioles-Blue Jays game.

'I hope that they will accept my sincere apology for what I said on the air the other day,' Roberts said.

'I definitely never, ever meant to cause anyone to feel like I was disrespecting them at all.'

However, he struck a different tone when speaking to the Toronto Star before the game.

'Honestly, I related it more to, like, I live in Florida,' the 47-year-old said. 'My hockey IQ is very low, to be honest with you, but I go to games.'

'It's not the native sport of Canada,' he continued. 'The same as baseball would generally be considered the native sport of America.'

Roberts, in his eighth season as an Orioles broadcaster, played all but one season of his 14-year MLB career with Baltimore.

He earned All-Star appearances in 2005 and 2007 and finished with a career batting average of .276.

Following his apology on Sunday, the Orioles fell 11-2 to the Blue Jays.