Chris “Mad Dog” Russo may never escape the fact that he backed out of a promise to retire if the Diamondbacks won Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS.
And the Diamondbacks were more than happy to remind him on Monday when he appeared at Chase Field to do “High Heat” live from Arizona before Game 3 of the World Series.
The team’s official account on X had a little fun at the sports talk host’s expense when MLB Network posted about the show on social media.
“Who let @MadDogUnleashed in the building?! We thought he retired and gates for fans don’t open until 2,” the Diamondbacks’ social media team posted.
Russo had no issue playing along with the friendly feud that had developed between the ballclub and talking head.
He posted a playful video to his own account on X while standing on the field in Phoenix.
“The doors are open. They’re not kicking the Mad Dog out of Phoenix,” Russo said in the video. “No matter what they try to do. Never. I’m here. … Nobody’s kicked me out. Nobody has thrown eggs at me so far or dumped water on me.”
Russo also poked fun at the whole situation during his show’s open by saying, ”I’ve been going to World Series games since 1969, I’ll be damned if I was going to miss this one.”
All of this started when Russo, so confident the Phillies would eliminate the Diamondbacks in Philadelphia, promised to retire “on the spot” if they won Game 6 and Game 7.
Arizona did just that and Russo walked back his promise, upsetting Diamondback fans and drawing the ire of some of his colleagues in the broadcasting industry.
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ESPN New York radio host Don La Greca tore into Russo for his “gimmick” during a show last week.
The Diamondbacks have taken the whole thing in stride and are hosting Game 3, Game 4 and Game 5 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers.
Going into Monday’s Game 3 the series is tied at one win apiece.
Arizona is making its first World Series appearance since 2001 when it defeated the Yankees for its only championship.
The Diamondbacks have been the underdog throughout the playoffs this year, which may have made making Russo eat his words a bit sweeter.
Team president Derrick Hall said ahead of Game 3 that the Diamondbacks have enjoyed playing the underdog role.
“I think our team likes to play that role,” Hall said while appearing with Russo on “High Heat.” “They like to play the underdog. It doesn’t bother them. They’re a fun group of guys. Young, energetic, athletic. A lot of fun to watch.”
Hall also took the time to chide Russo during the appearance and broke out an impression of Russo that was pretty close to the real thing.
Russo even took on a bit of an apologetic tone with Hall.
