Laura Rutledge has built a reputation as one of ESPN's most polished reporters. But when it came to her husband's baseball career, she admits she once ditched professionalism for something else entirely. Namely, a burner account.
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Rutledge revealed on the "Marchand Sports Media" podcast that she secretly created a Twitter handle to defend her husband Josh, who played six MLB seasons from 2012-17.
"When he was with the Angels, I made a fake Twitter — I'm admitting this, OK?" Rutledge said. "The name was BillyHalo76 or something. And BillyHalo only tweeted positive things about Josh Rutledge, and then the occasional Mike Trout tweet, because I was like, 'shoot, someone's gonna figure this out.'"
Whenever fans criticized Josh, BillyHalo76 was there to fight back with stats. "I don't think Josh knows this," Rutledge admitted. "If he watches this, he's gonna be really mad at me."
Josh, a middle infielder, broke into the majors with the Rockies before stints with the Angels, Red Sox and Giants. Rutledge said some of the toughest moments came in Boston, where he was forced into third base duties at Fenway Park despite hardly ever playing the position. After a couple of errors, the boos rained down. "And I'm like, 'shut up!'" she said.
Josh retired in 2018, but Laura's star has only risen. She was recently promoted to ESPN's top "Monday Night Football" broadcast, working sidelines opposite Lisa Salters. She also hosts NFL Live during the week and SEC Nation on Saturdays.
The Rutledges, both 36, were married in 2013 and have two children. Laura says the burner days are over, but her loyalty clearly isn't.
