While speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference last week Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow commented that the Rangers have spent money on the international market like “drunken sailors” recently.
Today the GM told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that he personally apologized to the Rangers their general manager Jon Daniels:
I reached out to Jon and to Nolan [Ryan] because it was taken out of context. I don’t know what they heard, but I did reach out to them and explained that it was not a dig against that organization because they’ve done a great job there.
Perhaps “drunken sailors” wasn’t the best choice of words, but Luhnow’s point was a valid one and certainly didn’t have to be taken as an insult. Beyond that, it’s unfortunate that stuff like this teaches high-profile figures that being more open and engaging when speaking in public forums isn’t worth the hassle.