NEW YORK — Boston Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy has apologized for his on-air remarks that pitchers such as Yankees star Masahiro Tanaka shouldn’t be allowed translators on the mound.

Remy apologized on Twitter a day after he said during the NESN telecast of the game between Boston and New York that pitchers such as the Japanese-born Tanaka should “learn baseball language.”

His comments quickly drew sharp criticism on social media.

“I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by my comments during the telecast last night,” Remy tweeted Wednesday.

The Red Sox and NESN released statements distancing themselves from Remy’s remarks. “We do not share the views expressed by Jerry Remy during last night’s broadcast,” a spokeswoman for the team said.

After Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild spoke with Tanaka in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game, Remy said to play-by-play man Dave O’Brien, “I forgot with Tanaka they take out a translator. I don’t think that should be legal.”

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When asked by O’Brien about his objection to the interpreter, Remy, who played for the Red Sox and is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame, said, “Learn baseball language. It’s pretty simple. You break it down pretty easy between pitching coach and pitcher after a long period of time.”

O’Brien replied, “I would say that probably they’re concerned about nuance being lost in some of these conversations.”

Remy, a popular figure among Red Sox fans, began working the team’s broadcasts in 1988. When asked about his remarks after Tuesday’s game, the 64-year-old Boston-area native told the Associated Press, “I’ve got no comment on that. Really.”

According to the Institute for Ethics and Diversity in Sport, MLB’s Opening Day rosters this year featured a record-high percentage of players, 29.8, born outside of the United States. They hailed from 19 countries and territories, and while Latino players increased from 28.5 percent in 2016 to 31.9 percent, Asian players increased from 1.7 percent to 1.9 percent.

MLB has been allowing on-field interpreters since 2013, and as of last year, it has required teams to employ full-time Spanish interpreters.

Tanaka reportedly speaks English well enough to carry on informal discussions with his Yankee teammates, but according to a 2016 Associated Press story, the team relies on his interpreter, Shingo Horie, “for detailed baseball conversations.” Rothschild told the AP that Horie helps with “the little nuances of the language.”

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FUTURES GAME: Two long-ago Portland Sea Dogs – Charles Johnson and Edgar Renteria – will manage in the All-Star Futures Game on July 9 at Marlins Park as part of festivities surrounding the All-Star Game. Both are members of the 1997 Marlins’ World Series team.
Johnson will lead the U.S. team and Renteria the world squad, the commissioner’s office said.

YANKEES: Two weeks after sustaining a concussion, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury isn’t sure when he will return.
Ellsbury was hurt when he crashed into the wall catching a drive by Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar on May 24. He is batting .281 with four homers, 14 RBI and eight stolen bases in 39 games.

ORIOLES: Right-hander Edwin Jackson, 33, will resume his career with the Baltimore – his 12th team – after the Orioles selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk.
Jackson, 33, broke into the big leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003.

PIRATES: Catcher Francisco Cervelli was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list after taking a foul ball off his mask in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to the Orioles.

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