The Controversial Billy Ripken

Hugging Harold Reynolds passes along a Page Six rant about MLB Network hiring former Oriole Billy Ripken as a commentator.

"February 25, 2009 --

MAJOR League Baseball hates scandal, yet two on- air personalities on its new MLB Network were once caught up in controversy. Three years ago, former Se attle Mariner Harold Reynolds was canned from ESPN after alleged sexual harassment. Reynolds called the charge 'a total misunderstanding . . . I gave a woman a hug, and I felt like it was misin terpreted,' and he won a seven-figure, wrongful termination suit. Still, veteran radio sports pro ducer Tom Somach told Page Six he was sur prised by the hiring, asking, 'What kind of message does that send?' And working as a guest analyst is Baltimore Oriole Billy Rip ken, whose 1989 baseball card showed him holding a bat with '[bleep] face' written on the knob. The card was yanked and re vised. MLB flack Matt Bourne called Reynolds 'an exemplary employee in every way' and said Ripkin's card flap was 'a very minor incident and what I would term as seemingly a prank.'"

I guess it's fair to say that Richard Johnson won't be buying one of these T-shirts any time soon.