Michael Keaton Channels Batman to Shut Down Heckler At Pirates Game
Batman is a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and he doesn’t like seeing his team heckled! Okay, it was actually Pirates super-fan Michael Keaton who was at the June 5 Pirates-Braves game, but Keaton channelled his Batman persona when he “swooped in” to confront the heckler. The Pirates won a big 10-8 victory over the Braves on the Braves’ own turf at Turner Field, but the heckler was a Braves fan, and he was unhappy with the way the game was going. He took it out on Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
The heckler should have paid attention to the people around him, since he was sitting just in front of Batman — er, Keaton, near the Pirates dugout. Keaton was having a good game, especially after he got an autographed ball from Pirate A.J. Burnett.
https://instagram.com/p/3kngOqxTM_/?taken-by=michaelkeatondouglas
But Michael grew up just outside of Pittsburgh and is ready to leap to the defense of his beloved Pirates.
McCutchen and his own personal heckler had some back and forth during the game that McCutchen described as “PG-13” in nature. The Braves fan kept badgering McCutchen, but things got really bad in the eighth inning when McCutcheon taunted him after sending two runs in. McCutchen held his ear and made “a ‘squawking’ gesture with his hand.”
— Forbes to Federal (@ForbesToFederal) June 6, 2015
After the inning, McCutchen made nice and tossed his batting gloves to the Braves fan.
@rtjr On his way to dugout after last out he gave him his batting gloves
— Ryan Fix (@FixRyan) June 6, 2015
The fan apparently didn’t appreciate the personal attention, and when the game was over, Michael Keaton went Batman. Yahoo Sports lamented that there were no video cameras rolling to record the exchange, but from the look of the photos on social media, Keaton didn’t have to say much. Michael just looked at the guy and pointed to the scoreboard with its 10-8 score. Like Corinne Heller, writing for E! Online, says, “Burn!”
Tweets erupted from the packed stands. “Michael Keaton just came over and trash talked the kid beside me,” tweeted baseball and Batman fan, Kristen.
MICHAEL KEATON JUST CAME OVER AND TRASH TALKED THE KID BESIDE ME! #braves
— Kristen (@abba_ks) June 6, 2015
Twitter user @Mask_or_Die commented on another of Kristen’s tweets and called the heckler “… a common, garden-variety, d*****y frat boy.”
Sorry #braves fans but that McCutcheon double was because the guy next to me trash-t…. http://t.co/Kyt3WvNqU4 pic.twitter.com/929tub2SBJ
— Kristen (@abba_ks) June 6, 2015
@abba_ks Ah! Twas a common, garden-variety, dooshy frat boy. Figures.
— the shield is strong (@Mask_or_Die) June 8, 2015
Andrew McCutcheon likened baseball games to a zoo, saying that people think they can “hit on the windows” without getting a reaction from the players. He told TribLive that some people seem to think players don’t speak!
“They get a little surprised when we actually do respond. A lot of times it’s like you’re talking to a 3-year-old. They just want some attention.”
Of course, the next day the Braves beat the Pirates 5-4, but that can’t take away the “glorious” Batman-Keaton burn of the June 5 game.
@rtjr Michael Keaton went and said something to the Cutch trash talker before his exit. The exchange looked glorious pic.twitter.com/y5MKCjDbIo
— Ryan Fix (@FixRyan) June 6, 2015
[Image via the New York Daily News]
