Mike Francesa criticizes Mets for letting “Hawk Tuah” girl Hailey Welch throw the first pitch
The “Sports Pope” is not here for the 15 minutes of fame for the “Hawk Tuah” girl.
The viral star, whose real name is Hailey Welch, threw out the first pitch before Thursday’s day game between the Mets and A’s at Citi Field, continuing her cycle of fame following the infamous interview with a man on the street in which she was heard saying “hawk tuah” to describe sexual acts.
On his podcast of the same name, Francesa expressed his anger at his team’s performance, citing that the Mets suffered a brutal defeat in the game – they led 5-0 after three innings but then lost 7-6, their fifth loss in six games.
However, he also questioned why the Mets marketing team had Welch throw out the first pitch at a “Camp Day” game that likely had many young fans in the stadium.
“I know she’s having 15 minutes of fame right now. She just hit a nerve and went viral with a smarmy answer to a question from a guy on the street,” Francesa acknowledged of Welch. “Knowing her fleeting fame was due to something as salacious as her answer, what in the world would make the Mets take her first ball? And on the day of training camp, no less.”
Francesa later continued, “You’ve heard me say many times, and I continued to say it after the change of ownership, that the Mets could screw up a funeral with just one car.”
He later threatened that the person behind the idea might be fired, but that was purely speculative.
Whoever in the marketing or advertising department decided it would be a good idea to get this girl, glorify her, put her in the spotlight and have her throw out the first pitch that completely ruined them from coast to coast, what the hell were they thinking?” he asked, before adding with a laugh, “Can you imagine the owner explaining to his wife exactly who this girl is?”
The decision to have Welch throw out the first pitch was polarizing; WFAN’s Sal Licata shared a similar opinion to Francesa.
Welch spoke about her appearance in a social media post on Friday, saying she was at Citi Field on behalf of the charity America’s Vet Dogs, which helps place service animals with military veterans and first responders.
