Giancarlo Stanton is out for tonight’s ALCS Game 2 between the Yankees and Astros. Stanton has had a rough season for the Yankees, but he was a spark in Game 1, helping New York to a 7-0 win with two hits and home run.

So his absence is a talking point, which is why Jim Bowden (hosting of MLB Network Radio’s ALCS Pregame show along with former MLB players Ryan Spilborghs and Mike Stanton) brought it up when they ran across Reggie Jackson ahead of the game. Unfortunately Bowden apparently neglected to mention they were live.

The exchange was magical, starting with Mr. October totally shutting down Jim Bowden’s attempts at mall talk, and leading through the Stanton comments and Jackson angrily realizing he was on the air. Here’s the audio:

“BOWDEN: Reggie, you share your birthday with me, May 18th. That’s pretty cool, right?” “JACKSON: I have the same birthday as you?” “BOWDEN: Yeah, May 18th!” “SPILBORGHS: Can that be changed?” “JACKSON: I’ve been thinking about suicide ever since I heard that.” “BOWDEN: I hope you don’t do that!” “JACKSON: I probably won’t.” “BOWDEN: Giancarlo Stanton’s quad is hurting him, he’s not in the lineup. Your thoughts?” “JACKSON: Fuck, he’s been out all fucking year! How the fuck could he be hurt? (laughs) This isn’t on-air, is it? Honest to god?”

Jackson angrily telling them to let him know he’s live next time is great. And hey, Stanton has basically been out all year! He only appeared in 18 regular season games.

But, most of all, it’s nice to know Reggie is still good for an entertaining hit in October.

(h/t Jason F. on Facebook)