Bob Costas Confused Justin Bieber With Guardians Pitcher Shane Bieber On National TV And Awkward Hilarity Ensued

For those of us who dabble in the finer points of both pop music and baseball, we’ve all had a chuckle in the past when likening Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber to globally-recognized pop sensation Justin Bieber. And maybe you’ve swapped the names before when mentioning the other by accident. It happens. The Bieber last name is far more synonymous with Justin than with Guardians ace Shane. But et tu Bob Costas? The Hall Of Fame sports broadcaster was calling the Guardians ALDS game versus the New York Yankees and referred to the pitcher as “Justin Bieber” before awkward hilarity ensued.

“Justin Bieber,” Costas said, before a multiple second pause. “Just threw his 84th pitch.” Two pitches later, after a strange silence, Costas must’ve gotten pinged by a producer, because he then admits to the mistake and tries to talk his way out of it. “I actually called Shane Bieber, Justin Bieber,” he said. “I vowed that would not happen. I’m sure it’s not the first time it’s happened in his life… I wonder if he’s watching the game?”

“If you guys can name one Justin Bieber song, I’ll give you ten bucks,” field reporter Lauren Shehadi chimed in. And before Costas could react, 62-year old color commentator and former New York Mets stud pitcher Ron Darling unexpectedly rose to the challenge: “Yummy.”