When former MLB player Josh Rutledge faced criticism, his wife, ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge, chose to take action in an unexpected way.
Rather than confront the critics directly, she created a fake social media profile to support her husband against his detractors. Between 2012 and 2017, during which time Josh played Major League Baseball, he encountered negative commentary, especially when he made his debut with the Colorado Rockies and later played for the Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants in 2018.
Laura confessed to making a fake Twitter account back when Josh was with the Angels, saying, “I made a fake Twitter – I admit this, OK? I know this was wrong. I haven’t done it ever since.” On the podcast, she described her account, calling it Bilehalo 76, which only tweeted positive messages about him and sometimes included supportive comments about Mike Trout.
She explained that whenever someone posted something negative about Josh, she would find those comments and counter them with statistics, insisting, “You’re wrong.” Apparently, she thinks Josh might be upset if he found out about this. “I don’t think Josh knows this. If he saw this, he would really be mad at me,” she admitted.
In 2014, Josh spent time with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate but didn’t make it into any Big League games. He was traded to the Red Sox in 2015. Laura also recalled how difficult it was for her when fans booed him at Fenway Park, noting, “I had a really hard time.” She added that he had primarily played third base since middle school, so hearing the criticism was especially emotional for her.
As a host, Laura is returning to ESPN’s broadcasts for Monday Night Football and runs a studio show focusing on NFL and college football. The Chicago Bears are set to face the Minnesota Vikings on September 8 for their first Monday night game of the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles, last year’s Super Bowl champions, will kick off the regular season against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.
