Stephen A. Smith seemingly forgot the 2020 MLB season was shortened due to Covid-19 when he claimed New York Mets star Pete Alonso was injured and barely played.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan announced that Alonso agreed to a five-year, $155 million deal to join the Baltimore Orioles. Alonso, 31, played his first seven seasons in the MLB with the Mets and was considered one of the faces of the franchise.

Hours later, Smith reacted to the news on The Stephen A. Smith Show. First, he lambasted the Mets for allowing star closer Edwin Diaz to sign with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. He applied that same criticism to Alonso’s departure.

While talking about Alonso’s stats, however, Smith appeared to overlook a vitally important piece of context:

He’s been in the league about seven years. Let’s look at him, alright? He got injured in year two. So, he hits 53 home runs and 120 RBIs his first year in 2019. Next year, he gets hurt, only played in 57 games. Still smacks 16 home runs, 35 RBIs. Next year, 37 home runs, 94 RBIs. The year after that, 2022, 40 home runs, 131 RBIs.

To Smith’s credit, he quickly realized his mistake with the 2020 season. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the MLB regular season was only 60 games. With 57 games played, Alonso appeared in nearly every game of that shortened season.

“Actually, 2020 was Covid,” Smith clarified. “I apologize. You gotta remember that, because there was a truncated season because all the stuff that was going on in Covid.”

Unfortunately for Smith, the damage was already done and social media users rushed to roast him for the error.

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